Baby Steps
by MusicBaby1013
Summary: Marley was curious. Her curiosity lead to trouble. Will she find a way out? This story contains both the sexual & nonsexual sides of age-play. If these subjects offend you do not read.
1. Chapter 1

**MASSIVE MASSIVE thanks go to Nayafan, UnholyUnderBoob, & Beaner008 for all of their help and inspiration. This story deals with Age-Play in several forms. It starts as a kink wanting to be explored, and morphs ever so slightly into a form of therapy. I hope you all enjoy this and know that this is my very first Glee fic, so please be gentle. Reviews are more than welcome and only constructive criticism please.**

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Shannon Bieste took a deep breath once she hung up the phone. She then opened her lap top and began going through her email. The files had been waiting for her, since eight am, and she had another two hours to make a decision. She was interrupted ten minutes later when she heard a knock at the door.

"Coach, can we talk please?" Santana asked.

"What's up pun'kin?" Shannon asked gesturing for Santana to have a seat.

"I'm not complaining, I mean I am, but I'm not," she said.

"Spit it out Santana," Shannon encouraged.

"I'm tired of spanking people, and whipping them, and talking down to them. It was fun in the beginning, but I can't find new ways to challenge myself, or them. Berry is always going on about how you have to find something new. I can't find anything new. One bare ass now looks just like the next, what am I going to do? I don't want them complaining. This job, is by far one of the cooler ones I've ever had, it beats waitressing, the tips are way better, the pay is a ton more, I get to help out my friends and if you tell them I said that I will hurt you, and yet I'm bored. Nothing about this job is challenging me any more and I don't know what to do about it," she rambled.

Shannon was quiet for a moment and let Santana finish her rambling. "Alright," she said after a moment. "How much of a challenge do you want?" she asked and Santana raised an eyebrow, not fully understanding what was being asked of her.

"Santana, I am in a very powerful position, with a lot of contacts and if you are looking for a challenge, I will most definitely give you one. It will be a full time challenge in the beginning, and assuming all goes well, you'll eventually be able to get back to working here," she said.

"You're firing me?" Santana asked her eyes going wide and her voice taking on a very defensive tone.

"You will listen, or you will be spanked, that has never changed," Shannon said seriously.

_Two years ago, Shannon Bieste had packed up and moved to New York City, and contacted her best friend Beth. "Beth, I need a job, whatever you have, where ever you have it," she'd said._

_"I will get you a job and if you do well, you can help me expand my business," she smiled._

_"Expand?"_

_"Yes. We are friends Shannon, you know I run a dominatrix ring for lack of a better term. I need an office manager and a new dominatrix. My clients are starting to get a little bit bored. We need fresh talent and fresh "victims"," Beth explained._

_"Whatever it is, sign me up," Shannon said happily._

_It had taken three weeks for Shannon to get the business six new clients per day and three new Mistresses to join the circle. All were well trained with years of experience under their belts. They were women in the late forty's to early fifty's, but not a single one of them showed their age. The clients were thrilled and just as Shannon booked the newest client, Beth came around the corner._

_"I came to give you a raise," Beth smiled handing her a check and Shannon nearly choked as she stuttered out a polite thank you. "You never struck me as a person with no words," Beth teased._

_"I've never seen that many zeros before," she said honestly._

_"Hard work, is to be rewarded," Beth told her._

_"And disobedience is punished," Shannon smiled, pointing to the phrase on the stationary on her desk. That phrase was also emblazoned on a plaque out front behind the receptionist desk where a very pretty young lady named Nicole sat, answering phone and setting up appointments, collecting payments, and greeting the customers when they walked in._

_"Very good my friend," Beth smiled. "Okay, serious talk though. I want some younger people. Younger Mistresses, and younger clientele," Beth explained and Shannon grabbed a piece of paper to take down notes to get all the information right. "Mistresses first, I will not send a girl in untrained. Training will be paid, five hundred dollars a week, advancement and a raise will be determined once training is finished. Training will be done at my discretion. If I don't like how she is progressing or I think she is going to be in danger, I will pay her and help her to move on. I want girls who want this too. Girls who are looking for a challenge. Age requirements are twenty two through twenty seven, strong, confident, willing to work," Beth said and then rattled off a few more details._

_Shannon nodded, took down all the information and set up an ad. It was only three days later when a very familiar name showed up on her email. She replied with a smile pulling at her lips. This was going to be perfect, she was sure of it. "Please come to the following address at four pm sharp. You will enter building and take the elevator to the tenth floor. We will discuss everything in person. She pressed send and then picked up the phone, dialing to the front desk. "Yes Miss Shannon?" Nicole answered._

_"I've set up an appointment at four o'clock Nicole. Expect a raven-hair latina with a high horse attitude. I only ask two things. Don't tell her my name, and be sure she reads the sign behind you," Shannon told her kindly._

_"Yes Miss Shannon," she smiled._

_Two hours later the very same raven-haired Latina showed up in the waiting room. It was 3:47 and Nicole smiled. A punctual person, this was a great sign and she loved how young this woman looked. "Fill this out please," Nicole said handing her the paperwork and then excused herself. "She's here Miss," Nicole smiled. _

_"Wonderful, as soon as it's filled out, escort her back here please," she said._

_Nicole nodded and left the room. She sat down and after a moment the girl handed Nicole the paperwork. "Santana, lovely, thank you," she smiled. "I've been asked to show you this sign," Nicole said gesturing behind her and Santana read it carefully. _

_"Hard work, is to be rewarded. Disobedience will be punished," Santana read out loud, and she nodded._

_"Just do your best to remember it," Nicole smiled and lead Santana back to Shannon's office._

_"It's nice to see you again Santana," Shannon said and she smiled as Santana's jaw hit the floor in surprise._

_Santana had been in training for two days and now her attitude was starting to come through. She was with Beth and had given her just a little too much lip and was quickly asked to repeat the company phrase._

_"What the fuck, now?" Santana asked._

_"Quickly before I double your punishment," Beth said._

_"Are you kidding me?"_

_"Now we'll work on triple," Beth said simply, keeping her calm the entire time. Santana, in her stubbornness however had pushed much too far and was given twenty whacks on the bare, over Beth's lap, with a ping pong paddle. Shannon was crushed, she had thought for sure Santana would have done so much better. Santana loved control, but lucky for her, Beth saw something she loved. "Alright Santana, we're going to sit and let you calm down and then you and I are going to have a very serious talk. You have a lot of promise and I don't want to let you go, but if you continued to test me too much, you will be dismissed," Beth explained._

Santana's body reacted a bit and she squirmed at the memory of being spanked. She would much prefer to be on the giving end, than the receiving end. "I'm not firing you, we're doing well, you've done well for the club, but I have a new challenge for you, as long as you are serious, and I mean deadly serious. It will require one hundred percent of your time, it's very serious," Shannon explained. "You're going to have to be out of the club for a good while, but I with all the good you've done for the club, I'll be able to give you your base earnings without issue. Consider it a work from home position," she said.

"What does it entail? Miss Beth likes me to know all the facts before I jump in," Santana said and Shannon smiled.

"I'm proud of you Santana," she smiled. "Alright, tonight after your last client, come pick up this file, take it home, and be sure to let Kurt and Rachel read it. They do not have to participate, but they have to be aware of it," she said seriously and immediately Santana's face fell. Whatever it was, it was truly serious, because from the first day, Shannon had informed Santana that Kurt and Rachel were to know as little details as possible. Now she wanted them to know every detail.

Santana went home after dealing with her client, mumbling about needing a shower. She let herself into the apartment and sighed. Rachel was in the shower, doing scales and Kurt was on the couch, watching one of his DVR'd shows. "Hey Santana," he called to her, turning just briefly to smile at her.

"Hey. I need you to read this, and then you need to tell me what you think," she said handing him a small stack of paper in a blue file folder.

"Homework?" he asked her.

"It's for my job. How long has she been in there and who cooked dinner?"

"Ten minutes so far and I did. Beef stew, I left your plate in the oven, we didn't know when you were going to be home," he said.

"Good, thank you, read please. It's very important," she said seriously and Kurt immediately turned off the tv, picked up the folder, went to the table and sat down to read it. "Now?" she asked him.

"You asked, I'm doing, you've got a weird look on your face," he told her. "How's Coach?" he asked.

"She's fine, but she's the one who wants you read that," she told him and he looked at her funny.

The scales stopped and five minutes later Rachel was in the kitchen, in her robe. "Hey, did you talk to Coach about challenging your self?" she asked with a happy smile. "Oh and add pepper to that," she told her pointing to the stew.

"It's fine!" Kurt said.

"And I'm telling you, it isn't," Rachel said as they two bickered.

"Enough!" Santana said in her mistress voice.

"Great, now you riled her up and she's gonna spank us!" Kurt said poking Rachel in the ribs and Santana actually laughed.

"I talked to Coach. You and Kurt have to read that file, and let me know what you think, and then I have to report back."

"Why?" Rachel asked curiously.

"Heavy stuff. I'm getting a promotion or a challenge, or something, but apparently you two have to be either on board, or at least okay with the situation. I read it, I understand, mostly. You two have to make the call now."

Kurt looked at Rachel and went to hand her the folder. Rachel shook her head. "I'll read it, but you came to me, telling me you wanted a way to challenge yourself. You said you were losing your drive, and passion, and I'm not going to stand in your way."

"Read the file, before you commit to that," Santana said and she sat down to eat the stew. She took one bite and smirked at Kurt, reaching for the pepper.

Shannon sighed and looked at Santana. "They are really sure?" she asked.

"Berry read it twice with tears streaming down her face. She went through an entire box of tissues. Lady Hummel says he wants to help, but he doesn't know how and will take his cues from me."

"And what are your concerns?"

"That I don't break her any further than she already is," she admitted.

"I'm proud of you Santana. Let's go to the hospital and I will explain more once we get there," she said.

It was a standard hospital. White walls, chemical smell, and tons of people walking around in varying colored scrubs. "You know what age play is, you were Nanny to George once, remember?" she asked as she signed both she and Santana into the guest log and Santana grimaced but nodded.

"He was disgusting. He messed himself on pur," she started and then looked at Shannon. "She wants that?" she asked horrified, not wanting to do deal with any more bodily functions than normal.

"Calm yourself," Shannon said. "No," she said once Santana was a bit calmer. "She doesn't want that, she is damaged Santana. She got herself into a terrible situation, she has been broken and abused. Right now she can't control it, it's part of why she'll be working with you. She has to learn how to do pretty much everything all over again."

"So she didn't choose age play?"

"She did."

"I don't understand, stop talking in riddles," Santana said and very quickly Shannon pulled her into the nearest bathroom and spanked her bottom firmly only once.

"Finish it Santana, Hard work is rewarded," she coached and with a grumble and sigh, Santana continued the statement of disobedience is punished. "You are not being respectful or patient, you know those are key and if you want this challenge, you're going to need to learn to get it together and fast. You will not go into that room thinking you know more than you do. You need to read over this file again, and truly understand it, then and only then will we go up that hospital room. This is your absolute last chance," she said seriously.

"Yes Coach," Santana said meekly and took the file, standing up to read the file.

"Sit!" Shannon ordered her and with a frown and a wince, Santana did as asked.

The nurse walked in and very carefully spoke to her patient. "Marley honey, it's Emma sweetheart, do you remember me?" she asked her and Marley looked at her, working her jaw around, feeling nothing but sore inside, and nodded slowly. "Can you try using your words please love?" she asked gently and Marley didn't say anything at all, she just stared. "Alright, maybe later," Emma said. "Now, I know you don't like this, but I have to change you, you're going to get a much worse rash if I don't," she explained and immediately Marley burst into tears.

Her long brown hair was quickly plastered to her face with a mix of sweat and tears and all she did was whimper and squirm and Emma tried to talk to her but Marley couldn't hear her. Her mind was brought back to the time where nothing but pain and torture happened. Her body started to shake and tremble as the memories kicked in and Emma worked quickly so as to minimize the shock that Marley was in. "Alright Marley, all done, all done, shhh," she cooed sweetly and gently fed Marley some ice chips. Marley coughed and sputtered but finally calmed down.

"Well honey, Dr. Martinez says that he's found you a new home. He's done a proper screening for both you and the place we want to put you in and you're going to be in very good hands now. Nothing like what happened to you at the last place will happen to you here honey," she told her, but Marley was not paying any attention. She had slipped into a full blown little girl space. Having been changed always set her back and Marley was now just lying in bed terrified. Emma sighed and continued to speak. Marley wasn't focused at all, but Emma still spoke to her as if she was fully aware of what was going on. She just hoped that something would get through. "You're a beautiful girl with a bright future ahead of you Marley and I hope one day you find the person who will nurture you the right way," Emma told her. She said it to her every time they spoke.

"Dr. Martinez, Shannon Bieste, we spoke on the phone," she said extending her hand.

"Yes Ms Shannon, lovely to meet you and you are Santana I take it?" he asked. Santana bit back her snarky comment, and simply nodded with a tight smile. "It's lovely to meet you as well. I'd like to introduce you to Marley. She'll be released in a few days, until then, I'd really like for you to spend as much time as you can with her, here at the hospital. It is critical that you bond with her, that she learn to trust you. I've talked to all her therapists and while they aren't happy with it, they understand that you're going to have to create a bond somehow," he explained. "Do you have any questions?" he asked.

"A million, but I don't know where to start," she said honestly.

"That is complete understandable," he said and he stood up. "Follow me, you can meet her therapists. She sees April for speech and Joe for physical therapy," he said. "I've explained everything to them, and they are going to have you sit in during their sessions. Marley should be ready for speech right about now, so why don't we go see her."

They walked into a room and Marley's eyes went wide. Santana was striking and Marley saw something in the young girl that immediately felt safe. The hard jaw line, the strong attitude, the confidence that oozed out of her body, it was a lot to take in, but Marley immediately understood that this was a girl who got what she wanted. She started to cry immediately. If this girl wanted her, and wanted to treat her the way Terri had, there was no way that Marley could survive another person who was just going to torture her. She had sores all over her body and she couldn't move.

"There she is, Marley this is Santana, can you say that?" April asked in a kind and cheery voice and Marley said nothing. "Come on Marley, let's practice, say, San, tan, ah," April coached and Marley still said nothing.

"I read her file, maybe she's too sore to speak," Santana said. "My name isn't the easiest," she said seriously walking into the room.

"I'm just trying to get her to say anything at all Santana, and if she's going to live with you, she's going to have to communicate somehow," April said.

"She has sores all over the inside of her mouth, and yet you think talking the way to go? Give her hand gestures, give her signals, make her beat the damn floor, but you don't make her talk in order for her to communicate when she's that's sore," Santana scolded and Shannon went to scold her, but Dr. Martinez stopped her.

"Let her do this, she's being protective, Marley needs to see that," he said softly.

Santana straightened her spine and walked over to the chair where April was. "If she has to communicate with me, then I get to dictate the rules," she said seriously. Marley looked on with something that was a mix of fear and awe. She hated speech lessons with April, which Santana had now stopped, but she also didn't know what Santana was going to do to her.

Santana picked up a bottle of lotion and showed it to Marley. "I'm just using this, my hands are dry, so I'm going to sit here and tell you a little about myself. If you want to tell me something, just stop me," she said and began to put lotion on her hands, purposefully using too much. Shannon had seen her do this on the closed circuit at the club, but usually it was to lube the guy up and torture him into an orgasm and then stop him from coming, so that his final release was more than memorable.

"Well, let's start with something easy. My name is Santana. When I was a little girl, I couldn't say my name, so I would say Tana. You can call me that. My little cousin, when she was little, she's now twenty, she calls me Sanny. My grandmother used to call me Garbage Face, but my parents put a stop to that when I got to kindergarten. If it's easy for you to say San, or Sanny, or Tana, or Santana, I'll take any of those names okay?" she asked and then looked down at her hands. "Oh, I have too much, are your hands dry, do you want to try some lotion?" she asked and to everyone's surprise, Marley nodded her agreement. For the next ten minutes she massaged Marley's finger tips because the rest of her hands were covered in bandages.

"You rest, I'll be back," Santana said once she finished and then excused herself to the bathroom, where she promptly threw up and cried. Marley was broken and now she had to fix her. She stared at herself in the mirror for five minutes, trying to breathe and pull it together before returning. She looked at Shannon and smiled. "I needed a minute," she said.

"You took ten, and I'm proud of you," she said.

The next day, Santana was back at the hospital and went straight to Marley's room, smiling at her when she walked in. "Hi Marley, do you remember me? I'm Santana, I met you yesterday," she said. Marley didn't move too much, but she moved her eyes to the bottle of lotion and then back to Santana. "That's right, I massaged your fingers yesterday. I could do that again if you like," she offered and Marley didn't say anything or move. "Okay, so I know that this April woman is making you talk and I know you don't want to, but we do need to communicate somehow. How about this. A quick blink of your eyes will mean yes and a long one will mean no. I will demonstrate for you," she said moving a little bit closer so she was in Marley's complete vision. "So what do you say Marley, do you and Santana have a deal?" she asked her and after a few moments of thought, Marley gave a quick blink and Santana beamed. "You're amazing Marley, thank you for trusting me," Santana said and Marley looked a bit surprised.

Terri had never thanked her before for anything. Terri did what she wanted and left and that was that. Marley seemed to think for a moment and Santana gave her time to process whatever it was that was going on in her head. "Let me know when you're ready Marley, then I'll put more lotion on your hands okay?" Santana asked and Marley blinked and Santana moved into the chair next to the bed. "Whenever you're ready Marley, just blink," she said kindly and after five minutes passed, Marley finally blinked. Santana picked up the lotion and smiled gently massaging it into her fingers.

"I wanted to tell you a few things today, but I don't want to overwhelm you, so I"m just going to talk to you and if it gets to be too much you can let me know and I'll stop. "First off, I feel like I should tell you about me, since I know a lot about you," she said and Marley's eyes flashed with shock and her body went tense. "Well not all about you, just about what happened to you before you came to the hospital. So I'm going to tell you that I'm a mistress," she said and Marley felt tears spring to her eyes immediately. "Shhh, it's alright," Santana said sweetly and she stilled her hands and just let Marley calm down. "Just breathe, you're okay," she assured her.

"See, here's the thing when I graduated high school, I went to college in Kentucky, I'm originally from Ohio. College wasn't for me," she said honestly. So I left college and went back home for a little while. About a month later I got a call from my friend Kurt. He and my other friend Rachel live here in New York. Berry, that's what I call her, got herself into a slight situation and Kurt was concerned for her, so naturally he called our friend Quinn and myself. We talked sense into Rachel and at some point I decided that New York might be the place for me. I came to New York and got a job as a waitress, but I just wanted more. I won't lie to you Marley. It's not worth it. I like control. I love the feeling I get, and after the training I went through, I am very good at my job. I'm good at control Marley. I like being in charge, and I like the powerful feeling that comes with it," she explained and Marley had tears running down her face, she was scared now. Santana was going to be just like Terri, she wasn't safe, and now she was in such a position that she couldn't even communicate she didn't want anything at all. Finally she remembered something and closed her eyes and Santana stopped all movement and all talking.

Marley left her eyes closed and let the tears fall and Santana waited patiently. "I didn't mean to scare you Marley," she said taking her hands away completely, she had to give Marley space, if she didn't the poor girl was going to go into shock, she was sure of it. "I don't believe in lying Marley, that's why I'm being as honest as I can with you," she said and after five minutes Marley opened her eyes and carefully looked to Santana. "I'm going to get some tissues and help you wipe your eyes," she said and Marley gave a quick blink. Santana smiled and nodded. "You're a super good listener Marley, I hope that everyone tells you that. I've known you for less than twenty four hours and already we have a communication system. You follow my rules very well. I will always, always, always reward good behavior," she said and Marley let out a soft cry. Her mouth was starting to hurt and she wasn't sure what to do about it.

"That's a bad sound Marley, and I will help, but I need to know what's wrong," she said and Marley carefully opened her mouth and continued to cry. "I don't know how to fix that Marley, I have to get help for you," she told her and left the room quickly, going to the nurses desk and demanding someone to come check on Marley. Marley heard her raising hell and wasn't sure what to think. Why was Santana so intent on helping her.

Marley was awake now. She didn't remember going to sleep. She just remembered a lot of yelling before hand and crying. She was always crying lately. Everything hurt, but still, she wanted to not cry any more, at least for more than an hour. She looked up at the door when she caught something out of the corner of her eye and was surprised to see Santana.

"You're awake again," Santana smiled. "Do you remember me? Do you remember Santana?" she asked and Marley blinked quickly. "You are amazing Marley, I'm very proud of you. I want to reward you for good behavior, do you think I could do that?" she asked her and Marley didn't respond. She didn't know what a reward was. She knew what used to happen to her, but she was clueless when it came to Santana. Santana thought for a moment and then smiled. "I should tell you what the reward is shouldn't I? let's start from the beginning then. Do you remember before when I told you I was a Mistress and I went through training?" Marley blinked quickly. "Well during my training, I was taught to know as much as I could before I jumped into anything at all. You are a very sweet girl and you have been listening very well. So as a reward I want to give you something. I went down to the gift shop and I found this," she said producing a little beige teddy bear. "See?" Santana asked with a smile and Marley started to pout and looked scared. "I messed up?" Santana asked her and Marley didn't respond, she didn't even blink. She wanted that teddy bear more than anything, but there were two problems now. First was that, she didn't know how long she was going to be able to keep it and secondly, it meant Santana knew she liked childish things at the very least. "Okay Marley, I'm going to put this teddy bear right here next to you and I"m going to get your file out of my bag and I'm going to read it to you," she said pulling a blue file out from her big black bag.

_Rachel pushed her tears away and handed the file back to Santana. "You can't say no, you can't," Rachel told her._

_"I can't say yes if you're going to fall apart though," Santana said. "I won't do anything to make you or Lady Hummel that uncomfortable," she said seriously._

_"It's a sad story," Rachel said and Santana sighed, nodding in agreement. "Here's what I see. I see a girl who has found out something about herself and went to who she thought was a professional to live out her fantasy. We're living out our fantasies."_

_"Ours do not include pacifiers," Santana said._

_"That's not the point and you just had three thermometer pacifier things delivered to this house yesterday, so, not the best example," Rachel said strongly._

_"To bring them to work. Make a point Berry!" Santana said seriously._

_"You came to me and said you wanted a challenge. It's here, staring you in the face, and you are the person who will be able to help her understand right from wrong, you do it all the time," Rachel said and Santana went to say something but Rachel held up her hand. "I"m not finished," she said. "You have to help her and find a way to show her that she can have this little girl life that she seems to want and that it does exist in a safe environment. I do not understand the whole dominatrix deal you have going on Santana, but you are very good at it. Take her into your care and show her that it's possible. I'll help where I can," Rachel said. "I'm done now," she said after a few beats of silence and Santana simply smiled and wrapped her in a hug._

_"You tell anyone about this and I'll kill you," she whispered._

_"No one would believe me," Rachel giggled hugging her friend back._

"This report is from Dr. Marsden. After careful review of the evidence that was gathered at the scene of the crime, I've determined that our victim has used pacifiers filled with vinegar. I'm not sure if this was by force or by choice, but if the patient wishes to continue with pacifiers, it must be introduced slowly and no sour liquids should be introduced to the soft tissues of the oral cavity. Also, by the same standard, diapers appear to have been by force. A victim who chooses to use them would only have done so, to this degree, if they were suffering from severe mental instability. The rashes were covering the entire right glute, the medial half of the left glute, deep into the vaginal cavity and the beginnings were scene on the outer edges of the anus. I suspect there was some rectal bleeding that lead to that specific rash, however, until the patient is fully communicative, this is still speculation. The patient shows normal nerve function, even during sedation and after spending several hours with Dr. Holiday, it is of the medical opinion that Marley is of sound mind and only wanted to explore some form of sexual entertainment that got ended up going beyond her control," Santana read.

She was quiet for a few moments, put the folder away and then looked at Marley. "I know you aren't ready to talk yet Marley, but I do understand that you want something more out of life Marley. I can see that you want to explore, and I will help you do that. I think that is why Coach, well Miss Beth, actually," she said pausing and taking a deep breath. "Marley, I've been "assigned" to you, for lack of a better term and I want you to understand that while you are scared and that's okay, you are safe. I will keep you safe," Santana said and after a moment Marley gave a quick blink.

"Thank you for your permission," Santana told her. "So now I want to get back to your reward, do you remember? I bought you something for your exceptional behavior and listening skills. I'm very proud of you, so I got you something I thought you would like. It doesn't have a name, that's something you get to give it. It's just a small little bear that this little girl can keep with her, whenever she wants, so she knows that she's being rewarded for good behavior. That's what this represents Marley okay?" she asked and again Marley gave a quick blink, indicating her understanding.

"Good girl," Santana smiled. "Now, I'm going to stay with you and massage your hands some more before Mr. Joe gets here. I hear you have physical therapy soon and you're just working on moving your arms today," she said. Marley looked confused and Santana smiled. "I told you Marley, I like control. I like being in control, I like the feeling it gives me. Knowing everything I can about you, while I'm with you, is a form of control. I made a promise to protect you and if I don't know all the details, I can't help, and I don't get the control. Make sense?" she asked. Marley blinked and Santana smiled. "You get a kiss now," she said and laid gentle lips on Marley's forehead. "I'm very proud of you sweetheart," she said, trying the nick name out for the first time.

On the third day, Santana sat with Marley for an hour before speech therapy. The lotion was worked into her fingers and now her wrists as they had just become uncovered and Marley moaned softly the entire time. It felt good to have Santana take care of her, but the new sensations she was experiencing were a little bit overwhelming. On this day, Santana chose to talk about Rachel and Kurt. "If you choose that you want to continue living with me, you need to know about my room mates. They know about you," she said and Marley had fear run through her body. "Calm down honey, calm down, just breathe for me. It's alright, it's okay that they know, they're going to have to know if you choose to come live with me, with us really. I will always protect you. They will not tease you, they will not make fun of you. They will find out a way to help you even, as long as you let them," Santana explained and Marley started to cry. "Oh honey," she said gently and she very carefully moved onto the bed and laid down with the crying girl who was now paralyzed with fear. "Shhh, you're okay, it's alright, I'll protect you Marley, I will always protect you," she told her cuddling in close and Marley cried herself to sleep. "Joe is going to be very mad at Santana for making you so upset and so tired before your session," she said on a soft sigh and laid with Marley for the next hour, until Joe came in and Santana woke her up kindly.

"I know you don't want to Marley, but you can do it and as soon as you do, I will leave you alone for today," Joe told her calmly placing a small ball in her hand. "Just squeeze it honey. A tiny little squeeze and then I go away. Your muscles need to regain some control. Terri was cruel to you and because of that, you aren't able to do the things that I can see you wanting to do. Now I know your friend Santana here has given you a lot of massages to your fingers to help them heal. Wouldn't it be nice to return the favor?" he offered.

"Absolutely not!" Santana said sternly. "You do not guilt her into anything. You ask her what she wants to do and if she agrees then you let her do it. You will not guilt her into anything," Santana said strongly, and Marley looked confused but Santana looked at her. "I made you a promise Marley. I said I would protect you and I will. That includes someone pressuring you and guilting you into something that you aren't quite ready for. You do what he says for you, not anyone else," she told her seriously.

Joe turned to look at Marley and sighed. "Alright Marley, in order to please Santana I will give you this ball so you can squeeze it and I'm going to watch you and help you through it, if you need it," he explained.

Marley looked at Santana and Santana shook her head keeping eye contact with Marley. "Not for me sweetheart. For you. You matter. You're important, everything you do from this point forward has to be for you and no one else," she said and Marley worked her jaw a bit and then looked down at the ball.

"If I make it look like it's for me, then I make her happy, and that will make me happy and she didn't leave when she found out what a freak I am. This is for both of us," Marley thought to herself.

She finally squeezed the ball and then let out a scream of pain. "What the fuck was that?!" Santana asked Joe angrily.

"Her muscle cramped, she squeezed too hard," he said quickly jumping into action, opening her hand and squeezing her muscles in just the right places to get it to relax and very soon Marley had tears running down her face.

Santana moved in quickly and wrapped Marley in a hug. "It's alright baby, it's alright, you did so well. You squeezed the ball, just like he asked you to, when you were ready and you did so well," she praised her. "But as soon as you calm down, Joe he is going to explain everything that just happened, so you don't get scared. Remember how Santana talked to you about being prepared, this is part of that," she said kindly, speaking softly into her ear and then she looked at Joe. "Everything. You tell her everything you can. You let her know what happened and why it happened and if and when it will happen again," Santana ordered and Marley looked sadly at Joe but cuddled into Santana, it was nice to finally be truly protected.

Day after day, while Marley had her speech and physical therapy sessions, Santana was present and made sure that Marley was fully informed of what was going on. Santana had beaten April to the room on this particular day and Marley had tears in her eyes the second Santana walked in. "Honey, what's wrong?" she asked with concern and confusion. She knew Marley wasn't going to talk to her, but she always offered the question, wanting to give Marley the chance. "It's okay honey, you're alright," Santana said gently and to her surprise, Marley sat up, screaming in pain and hung on tightly to Santana.

"Ah, ah," Marley whimpered.

"Shhh, I"m here honey, Santana's here, you're safe," she said.

"Ah," Marley cried.

"Shhh, it's alright Marley. Santana's here, you're safe. I will always protect you Marley, you're okay," she told her and Marley hung on tight, shaking, and crying.

It was how Dr. Martinez and April found them five minutes later. "Oh good, you are here. Marley has been crying since you left yesterday," he said.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry," Santana said and then she looked at Dr. Martinez, Marley still tight in her arms, now more settled on her lap in what Santana hoped was a comfortable position. "Why wasn't I called?" she asked angrily.

"Eee," Marley cried, resting her head on Santana's shoulder, her posture terrible, her body screaming in pain from the awkward position, but she wasn't going to dare let go.

"I'm sorry?" Dr. Martinez asked.

"If she has been crying since I left, why wasn't I called? Wasn't the entire point of me being here to bond with her? Wasn't I supposed to stop everything I was doing to come be with Marley and help her with her recovery?" Santana asked, her voice sharp and tight.

"Ms. Lopez, please calm down, don't upset her any further," Dr. Martinez said kindly.

"Mmmm," Marley started. "Eeee," she continued and started to cry.

"Ms. Lopez, please put her back in the bed, and we can discuss this in the hallway," Dr. Martinez said.

Santana growled softly and protectively and Marley gripped her tight. Santana carefully stood up and put Marley back in the bed, surprised at how light Marley was and how easy she was to maneuver.

"Ah, me!" Marely said, tears showing up again.

"Shhh, I'm sorry honey. I just have to go into the hall and talk to Dr. Martinez, I'll be quick," she said.

"Me," Marley said tears flowing down her cheeks now. "Ah, me!" she said slowly and then started to get more worked up as Santana left the room. "Me, Ahmee," she cried before finally pushing out the full word. "Mommy!" she squeaked and started to reach for Santana begging her to stay.

"Are you happy now?" Santana asked Dr. Martinez firmly. Then she moved back to the bed and sat down. "Shhh," she said focusing all her attention on Marley. "Marley, look baby, look," she said gently, reaching over and picking up the lotion that she'd been using since the first day she showed up. "Shhh, look, let's talk, very soft, you and Santana, very simple, very easy. You and I have a good thing going don't we?" she smiled at her and Marley hiccuped in response. "Shhh, calm down my lovely," she said. "Let me see those pretty hands, can Santana have them?" she asked.

"Mommy," Marley whimpered.

"Okay," Santana grinned and she looked at Marley who carefully moved her hands closer to Santana. "Tell me sweetheart, do you know my name?" she asked and Marley simply blinked her eyes once. "My sweet girl, I know one quick blink means yes and one long one means no," she said. "Tell me lovely, did you have a good night?" A long blink. "Did you have bad dreams?" A long blink. "Dr. Martinez says you missed me," she said. A quick blink and fresh tears. "Shhh, it's okay Marley, I"m not mad. I'll tell you a secret sweetheart, I missed you too," she smiled at her as she continued to massage her hands. "Alright sweetheart, one more question okay? You said your first word for me just now. That was something very special and I want you to be very sure that you mean it sweetheart," she said and Marley went on edge immediately.

"No, angel, I'm not mad, I'm so proud of you for speaking. You have a beautiful voice. Your first word though, that was Mommy, are you sure you want me to be your Mommy?" she asked her, and instead of a quick blink, it was many quick blinks in rapid succession and Marley started to fight to get up. Her entire body ached, she was opening up sores that had just recently healed and small bits of blood were now coming through the gauze pads taped on her hips but she didn't care, she had to be in Santana's arms where it was safe.

She cried out in pain again but managed to find the strength to roll onto her side, trying to get into Santana's lap. "No Marley," Santana told her. "No baby, we can't cuddle like this, Santana has to lie in bed next to you. We can still cuddle, we can, we will, but Santana has to stay next to you," Santana explained and then climbed into bed before gathering the girl close.

"Mommy," Marley cried and this time she didn't stop. Santana was safe, Santana would make things better, she was convinced of it, and Marley couldn't stop crying tears of relief, knowing that what Nurse Emma had said, had finally come true. She'd found the person to help her grow and be take care of her. She knew this because her hands were healing. Her fingers didn't hurt any longer and all that had come from being in Santana's care. This was her mommy.

That night, Santana went home and found Rachel at the computer. "Berry," she said walking in.

"Hey, how'd it go at the hospital?" she asked.

"Marley said her first word and she moved more than I ever though was possible at this point in the game," Santana said.

"And you're not celebrating that because..."

"She said Mommy."

"That's!" Rachel started excitedly.

"Me, she called me Mommy," Santana said and Rachel looked at her curiously. "I don't know if this is the challenge I want Rachel and now the next step is for her to come live here," she said pacing the apartment, flailing her arms, and looking genuinely concerned, but Rachel let her pace. It was something she'd learned. When Santana got worked up, you just had to wait until she was calm. "What am I going to do now?" she asked finally, sitting down on the bed and looking defeated.

Rachel stood up and moved over to the computer desk. She tapped out a few things on the keyboard and then looked back at her friend. "Come look. I've been doing some research today," she said.

"Why?"

"Because despite what you say, you are not superwoman and I wanted to give you some help," Rachel said rolling her eyes.

Santana pulled up a chair and looked over Rachel's shoulder. "Adult Footies with drop seat," she said and a smile crossed her face. "Getting kinky in your old age there Berry?" she teased.

"No, you goon, it's for your soon to be little popsicle," she said. "I read the file, twice, remember?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you," Santana said not looking pleased at Rachel's attitude. "Well if she's calling you Mommy, that means she trusts you which means she will be here soon and with her medical issues, she's going to need warm clothes. Look, they have ducks and butterflies and all kinds of cute things. She can stay in role, but still stay warm and if she has to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, she won't freeze to death," Rachel said.

"She can't even walk," Santana said.

"Well I tried anyway," Rachel said and then excused herself into the kitchen and began cooking dinner. "It's my night, do you want anything special? I have no plans in mind," she said.

"I'm not in the mood for eating," she said.

"That's rare," Kurt said walking into the house and looking at the two girls and then looking at the computer. "You showed her?" he asked Rachel.

"And got shot down," Rachel said with a bit too much perk.

"I didn't shoot you down!" Santana defended.

"You didn't say yes or no. No answer from you means shot down. Four years in high school and five years in New York Santana I know you by now!" Rachel said.

"Retract your claws ladies!" Kurt said quickly noticing Santana was ready to launch into some type of rant about how Rachel didn't know her at all. The truth was, the three of them now knew each other very well. They both deflated quickly and Kurt smiled. "Let's all have dinner and discuss your days later," he offered them. They both mumbled their agreement.

Santana picked at her breakfast and Rachel stood back watching. It was killing her and she couldn't do anything about it until Santana was calm. "I feel you watching me," Santana grumbled.

"I want to help Santana, that's all it is," Rachel said honestly.

"And if I knew what the fuck I was doing I would have you help," she said angrily and honestly.

Rachel sighed and smiled. She hadn't seen Santana insecure in a very long time. She slipped into the chair near her and took her hand. "Listen to me, you got her to say her first word since this horrible ordeal and if I paid attention to you, that's like some gigantic step that even the "professionals" can get her to do. Didn't you say her speech therapist only makes her cry?" she asked and Santana nodded.

"I can't hurt her Rachel," Santana said her face crumbling and Rachel took her chin gently.

"Santana in the time I've known you, you've never failed anyone and that includes me," Rachel told her and Santana scoffed. "You know it's true. You and your psychic mexican third eye saved me from Brody. I told you then I would never doubt you and that includes right now. You fought for me, and now I'm fighting for you, with you," she said and with those simple words, Santana broke down.

Rachel moved into Santana's lap and cuddled her, keeping her close. "You're doing a very good job Santana, please give yourself more credit," she told her.

"I'm not someone's Mommy. I don't know how to be someone's Mommy," she said honestly.

"I think you do. I think you're doing it now," she said.

"With you?" Santana asked with a smirk, wiping away her tears.

"Well not _right_ now, but you are doing it with Marley. You showed her how it's okay to get what she wants and to be safe, you taught her that and isn't that a Mommy's job to teach their children things?" she asked her kindly.

"I can't fail her. They put too much faith in me," Santana whimpered.

"Hey, breathe, and just take it one day at a time okay?" Rachel asked smiling at her.

Santana closed her eyes and nodded, resting her head on Rachel's shoulder as Rachel continued to sit in her lap and play with her hair hoping to soothe her friend.

"What are you doing today?" she asked her.

"Today is more physical therapy. Joe wants her to get her to move her arms so she can feed herself, or at least try, but her mouth is still so raw inside that they still have her on an IV drip and she hates it," Santana said.

"You'll figure it out Santana, you always do," Rachel told her.


	2. Chapter 2

**MASSIVE MASSIVE THANKS to my friends who inspired this, Nayafan, UnholyUnderBoob, and Beaner008. I don't know how to make their names blue, can someone teach me please? I want to give them proper credit, meaning link to them, so you can go read their fabulous works. Nayafan, I believe, has been EXTREMELY helpful in getting people to read this story, as they posted a link on their tumblr account! SO very grateful!**

**Secondly to everyone who reviewed, thank you so much, that is SO SO heartwarming to know that my imagination, my creative piece of work, made someone else in this case a few someones entertained. I really appreciate that. I would like to update every Sunday from now on, but know that I'm not as far ahead of myself as I'd like to be, and I don't want to put up so much all at once and then leave you all hanging, so I just ask that you be patient. Also I put "blocks" in this story to separate the sections. I like the little tildas, a small group of them to do so, but this site, apparently does not approve of them, so you get full out lines to help break up the story. Sorry about not noticing that on the first chapter.**

**Lastly, I feel I should state this properly. I am very intrigued by age play and all the details that go into it, but in my head it's much more romanticized than it is in real life. I know that I don't have all the information that I want for this story, but I am working on it and what I'm completely unsure of, I either research or don't post. For some people this story will eventually have a high "squick" factor. If bathroom/bodily function details gross you out, then please proceed with caution. If anyone has any concerns about the story, or where I'm taking it, please PM me and I'll do my best to explain things, without giving it all away.**

**Thanks again for the support & encouragement.**

* * *

Santana walked into Marley's room to find her sleeping. This was a good sign. Sleep meant she had worked, she had pushed her body toward recovery and now she was resting. "That's what I want for you, to get better and be happy, that's all I want for you," Santana said softly. She took a seat on the chair next to the bed and looked more closely at Marley, who was not only sleeping peacefully, but had the small teddy bear tucked in tight next to her and Santana smiled. She sat still for about three minutes and then she pulled out her phone and began going over her texts and any emails she had piling up. She did her best to reply to everyone before she went to bed.

"Hello Mistress. I need a session with you. I'm available for you at your convenience. I've been terrible to my self and to my employees, and I need for you to punish me for my discretions." it said and Santana rolled her eyes. "You always mistreat your employees," she said softly to herself. She glanced up quickly and saw Marley starting to wake up, so she put down her phone and smiled. "Hey there big girl," she grinned.

"M...eee," Marley said softly and Santana smiled.

"Do you hurt my sweet girl?" she asked her genuinely. During the night her mouth would dry out and her sores would become very painful in the morning. Marley blinked a yes and pouted. "I'm sorry sweetheart. What should we try. Shall we get some more juice into you?" she asked reaching for it and Marley knew she didn't have too much of a say in this. Something had to be done. Marley drank this juice all the time. No one told her it was pedialyte though, at Santana's request, her very strong request.

_"If you tell her what it is, she will freak. If I show up tomorrow, offer her the juice, and she freaks I'm coming after you, do you understand?" she asked the nurse on duty in her best Mistress voice and apparently it worked, because the nurse simply nodded, made a note on Marley's chart, and then smiled kindly at Santana._

Santana picked up the pitcher and then poured the glass of juice for Marley. "It's the red kind, you like that one right?" she asked her kindly. Marley didn't say anything and Santana really wanted to just talk for her, but that wasn't going to help anyone, so she just stared at Marely, who eventually whined. "No baby, we have a communication system. Do you like the red juice?" she asked her and Marley looked away. Her mouth hurt, at this point she didn't care about anything. "No use in being cranky sweetheart, it's not going to get you anywhere fast. Do you want red juice?" she asked again and Marley turned away and started to cry. "Apparently we did not sleep so well," Santana said. She put the juice down and then crawled into bed with Marley, something that they had both become familiar with.

Santana took her hand gently and spoke softly into her ear. "I think my baby girl didn't get a good night's rest and is very cranky today," Santana said softly. "You squeeze Santana's hand," she started.

"Me-eee," Marley whined.

"Ah, ah, ah, no whining," Santana scholded. "When you're ready to communicate like a good girl, then you squeeze my hand. I will tell you though, that if you wait too long, I'll have to force you. Your mouth is in pain and I don't want to see you suffer any longer. You are currently in control Marley, but if you wait too long, I will assume you are giving control to me and I will take full advantage of it, to get you better as quickly as possible," Santana said. She didn't ask if Marley understood, she knew she did.

"Ma-eeee," Marley whined.

"No whining Marley," Santana said firmly as she continued to pet her hair.

Joe walked into the room and smiled. "Hi Marley. I'm glad to see you awake. We have a few things to do today and I'm glad Santana is," she started.

"Mommy!" Marley whined at him, her voice getting a bit stronger as time passed.

"Stop whining Marley," Santana warned her sternly.

"Oh, is that Mommy?" Joe asked pointing to Santana and Marley blinked once and then squeezed Santana's hand.

"Look at me little girl," Santana said quickly carefully shifting herself so they were eye to eye. "Mr. Joe is here to do your physical therapy. I will stay since I appear to be requested, but if you whine in defiance one more time, I am stepping out of the room until you can calm yourself, do you understand?" she asked and Marley blinked at Santana. Santana gave a sigh and kissed her forehead. "Thank you, now before we start therapy, you are going to drink your juice," she told her and Marley blinked. Santana made a mental note to talk to Kurt and Rachel about Marley's behavior, maybe they would have insight for her.

"Good, that will help," Joe smiled and poured the cup for Marley. "Today we work on you holding a cup and drinking yourself. You're going to be drinking a lot this morning. I'll guide you the first few times and then we'll work up to you doing it yourself. Now, raise your hand if you know Marley, are you right handed or left handed?" Marley didn't raise either hand. "Do you not know?" he asked her and she blinked at him. "That's not so bad, we'll train both," he smiled at her. "It's just muscle memory honey, we'll just make our way to rebuilding the memory, they do remember. If it hurts too much, you let me know and we'll take a break," he explained to her.

* * *

An hour later Marley was in tears of frustration. "You're doing so well Marley, I know it's tough, but you are my most exceptional patient," Joe told her. "I am so proud of you. You're doing wonderful. One more set on the left and then you can rest I promise," he told her. Her bottom lip trembled, but she nodded a bit and looked to Santana, needing her guidance and encouragement.

She wrapped her hand around the cup and began to lift. It was slow and careful. Half way up to her lips the cup began to tremble as her muscles shook. Joe reached out and took her hand. "Good, Marley, very good," he told her. A cramp took over her bicep and she let out a cry. Santana wrapped her arms around Marley's bicep and squeezed it to help ease the pain. Marley let out a whimper but then looked to Santana and just waited for the pain to pass. They were helping her and even she felt the progress she was making and even felt proud. "I'm going to let go Marley and then you can carry on, you can do it, you're almost there," Joe said.

Santana loosened her grip first and then Joe, and Marley moved it toward her mouth. Three quarters of the way and she let out a scream. There was no tension in her arm, just Marley, screaming, in buckets of tears. Santana pressed the page for the nurses station and two came flying in quickly. Everything seemed to get very chaotic very quickly and pretty soon all Santana could hear was Marley, screaming for her Mommy. She moved in close and noticed that the nurses were checking Marley's low back and when the first nurse touched her bottom, she gripped Santana and screamed again.

"Shhh," Santana soothed. "Shhh, I'm right here," she said kindly and covered her ears looking at the nurses. "Someone talk to her. What is going on?" Santana demanded and the second nurse looked at her chart.

"We have to change her, everyone out," the young nurse said.

"Mommy!" Marley screamed.

"I stay!" Santana said seriously and with a sigh, the nurse shook her head but agreed.

Marley hated being changed. It was all too much for her. She had wanted to be someone's baby, to be loved and cared for and tended to, because she no longer had close family to be with. She thought if she could start over, truly from the beginning with someone who wanted her, she would manage to feel that love again, the love of a mother or father that she hadn't felt in the past three years. She never thought that she would actually be back in diapers. She had figured on age two or three. Terri on the other hand had forced her into diapers, against her will, leaving her to sit in her own mess for hours on end, causing a very painful and widely spread rash.

"Mommy," Marley finally squealed, her eyes shedding fresh tears.

"Shhh, I'm right here love, I'm right here. Remember Marley, remember my promise. I won't let anyone hurt you sweetheart," Santana said.

The nurse took a deep breath and looked at Santana. "Jane, out please," she told her colleague. I have this," she told her. "I'm Emma, I've been with Marley since she got here and I will show you how to change her. I hear you're doing really well with her," Emma explained and Santana nodded her understanding. "Marley honey, I'm sorry sweetie, but you have to lay on your back, it's the easiest way to get this done as fast as possible," she said and Marley continued to cry which eventually turned into sobs and Santana looked angrily at the nurse.

"Show me fast, before I figure it out on my own," she said.

"Get her to lay back then," Emma said just as strongly and Santana eased Marley back onto the bed.

"Shhh, I'm sorry baby, Santana is very sorry baby," she said gently.

"Mommy!" Marley wailed and Santana sighed heavily.

"Shhh, I know baby, I know, I'm sorry, Mommy's right here, I'm so sorry sweetheart," she told her gently, over and over, cooing to her while Emma changed her and Marley simply cried. Emma slathered Marley's bottom with lots of cream to help heal her rashes and Marley's sobbing turned to screaming. "Do you have to hurt her!" Santana snapped protectively.

"I didn't hurt her, I'm doing what I can to make her better as fast as possible," Emma told her.

"Please hurry and then I want the two of us to be alone," Santana said and Emma nodded. Santana leaned in close and pressed gentle kisses to Marley's temple. "I won't let anyone hurt you Marley. Not any more. Now you're safe with me," she said. Marley was put in a fresh diaper and the gown was replaced. Emma looked at Santana and spoke kindly.

"You can rest now. Her speech therapist won't be here till much later this afternoon," she said and left them alone.

Marley was still under great distress, breathing rapidly and trembling. "Oh baby," Santana said, her heart breaking in two for the broken girl before her. "Okay, let's get you more comfortable," she said. "Cuddle time for Marley," Santana said and she carefully climbed into the bed behind her and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Shhh, I'm here baby, I'm right here and you're safe. I know it hurts, I know. That was a lot of screaming," Santana said keeping her voice light. "Shhh, let's calm down, nice deep breaths, can you breath with San," she started. "Mommy?" she said changing her voice. It was sweeter, gentler. "Yes you can baby, breathe with Mommy," Santana encouraged her and it took some doing but Marley finally calmed.

"Shhh," she soothed swaying lightly from side to side. "Mommy's here. Let's get teddy bear, does teddy bear have a name yet?" she asked and Marley shook her head slowly. "Alright, Mommy's going to call it Teddy Bear and if you want to give a different name you let me know okay?" she asked her and Marley hiccuped, but agreed and Santana felt her get very heavy. "My baby girl, I'm so sorry you hurt my love," she said and she started to sing softly. It took about an hour, but finally Marley was sleeping and Santana took a deep breath. She carefully removed herself and went to the nurse's station.

"Ms. Lopez, we can't do anything about," the nurse started and Santana held up her hand.

"I need to know how to change her. I couldn't do it before. I had to hold her and keep her calm while someone else changed her. If I am to be her Mommy, which I will take very seriously, then I need to know this too," she said kindly, which did surprise the nurse a little bit, but she smiled and nodded.

"I can take you to the supply closet and help you learn on the mannequin," she said.

* * *

Santana dragged herself home and laid down on the couch. Kurt walked over and pulled back her hair that was covering her face. "You're going to suffocate yourself," he told her kindly.

"Come sit," she ordered him wiggling around on the couch and making room for him.

He sat next to her and combed his fingers through her hair to help relax her. "You keep making those faces and creating those worry lines, you're going to look like a prune," he told her with a smirk.

"You're not funny," she pouted at him. It took a moment for her to say more, but eventually she found her strength. "I had to learn to change her," she said and looked at Kurt who seemed to be waiting for more words. "Change her," she repeated.

"Into what?" Kurt asked, not understanding.

"A diaper," she said cocking her head to the side, not understanding why he looked so confused.

"Rewind," he told her. "Start from the beginning."

"I was with Marley for about two hours. We did some communicating and she started whining at me, but she was whining the word Mommy more than anything."

"She trusts you, she wants you to be her Mommy. Rachel told you that last night."

"But she shouldn't. She shouldn't just jump into something she doesn't know, that's what got her into this mess in the first place," Santana said in annoyance.

"Let me ask you something, have you demanded anything from her?" he asked.

"I don't work like that. I find out what they want, we discuss it, boundaries are set, and then we jump into it," she said.

"Then you are showing her, even though it's not through two way verbal communication, that you are safe. She can trust you. She figured that out before anything else, because you showed her," he said.

"I don't like it when you're right," she said.

"I'll make note of that for the future," he smiled. "What happened after her whining?" he asked.

"She had therapy, two muscle spasms and we pumped her so full of pedialyte, that she peed herself and then screamed, and I mean screamed. Bloody murder, I've never heard anyone scream like that," she said. Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Not even when Berry squeals in the shower," she said with a smirk.

"Do you want a sandwich?" he offered her noticing she wasn't ready to share any more.

"I have to get back to the hospital in an hour. They sedated her to give her some true rest," Santana yawned.

"Then perhaps you need to sleep," he smiled and pet her hair.

"Make me a list of lullabies for her," she told him closing his eyes and he smiled once she wasn't looking.

He pet her hair and sung softly. "Black bird singing in the dead of night. Take these broken wings and learn to fly, all your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise," he sang and Santana smiled with her eyes closed.

"Thank you," she said quietly and he nodded and went back to singing, letting Santana catch a nap before she went back to the hospital.

* * *

"I know you aren't really in to this, but she is coming to live with us, so you at least have to meet her. I've told her all about you, but expect someone very shy, and quiet. I can't imagine her saying too much," Santana explained as they walked into the hospital.

"You said she barely says anything," Kurt smiled as he signed his name on the entry log at the front desk.

"Usually, she doesn't. Yesterday though she was very animated. That is until I told her I was bringing you with me. I showed her your picture and she went quiet."

"One crack Santana and I'm out of here," Kurt said seriously.

"Oh relax!" she said taking his hand tightly into hers. "Let's go. I only ask that you be patient with her," she said.

"You will not even know who I am," he smiled at her.

Santana went to the desk on the fourth floor and looked at the nurse. "Where is Marley please?" she asked.

"Speech therapy is now, she's probably giving April a very difficult time, since you aren't with her," Emma offered.

"She gives everyone a hard time. This is Kurt. He is coming with me. He is one of my room mates. Marley has to get to know him," she explained.

Emma nodded. "They moved into room eighteen today. Joe had her on the floor to help with her core strength and April just kept her in there. Good luck," Emma smiled and Santana nodded and went down the hall.

Santana and Kurt walked in to see Marley in tears. Marley wanted to cry out for her Mommy, but there was another person there, that she didn't know and she wasn't going to out herself to this stranger. It was bad enough that April had accidentally heard her speaking and praised her to the high heavens and then decided to ask her for more. She didn't want to do it on someone else's time. Just her own. It sounded wrong to her. She had a sever lisp from all the sores that were still healing within her mouth. It was delicate tissue and the healing process, as far as the doctors could figure, would not be sped up in any way. Marley was just going to have to work at it.

"Come on Marley. You can say it, I know you can," April coaxed. "I just need to hear you count to three," April said. Marley looked to Santana and her eyes filled with tears. She didn't want to do this and she really wished that Santana would save her. Marley fell forward and put her face on the floor. She wasn't even going to try and that was that, she'd decided.

"Marley," Santana said in a warning voice. Marley turned her head toward Santana and Kurt and whimpered quietly. Santana moved to sit behind Marley and helped her up into a seated position. "Marley my love, you know that we all think you have a beautiful voice, so you have to at least try to speak," Santana said kissing her temple and helping her calm down some. Kurt hung back and watched, amazed at how gentle and calm Santana was.

Marley looked over at the blocks April had brought with her. They were simple stacking cups, in bright colors that had numbers on the bottom. They were normally used for movement classes. Joe liked to have things that his patients could graduate and grow with. The cups got larger in size with each increasing number. "Come on sweetheart, tell me what you have to do," she said.

"Mommy?" Marley asked softly.

"Yes baby, you can show Mommy what Miss April wants you to do," she assured her. Marley reached forward and very slowly and carefully edged the cups closer to herself, putting them in numerical order. She carefully tapped them. One. Two. Three. "One two three?" Santana asked her.

"I would like her to count to three for me," April said.

"You can do that sweetheart," Santana cooed softly. Marley shook her head no. She wasn't going to do it. These words meant only more would follow and she sounded horrible. She didn't want to hear herself, or worse yet, let anyone else hear her. Terri had heard her singing once and as punishment, didn't let her talk any more. She had in fact made her worse.

She'd soaked a pacifier in apple cider vinegar and then forced it into Marley's mouth. It was incredibly sour and Marley choked on the strong fumes for a good two minutes before finally calming down. "Babies do not talk and do not sing, ever," Terri said angrily. After that Terri decided to force Marley to have a coated pacifier at some point every day. She never did it at the same time either. Sometimes it was first thing in the morning, to discourage her from speaking during the day and sometimes it was at night, tied into place, so she couldn't spit it out and poor Marley would cry herself to sleep.

"Marley honey, this is not punishment. Your voice is like a muscle and if you don't use it, it's going to get weak and you'll have a hard time communicating at all," April sighed and Marley burst into tears, hiding her face in Santana's shoulder as best she could, crying harder when her diapered bottom rubbed too hard on the floor, burning her already bruised bottom some more.

"Was that really necessary?" Kurt asked quickly and angrily and Santana looked up.

"Excuse me?" April asked.

"Look, I get that you're a professional, but she's a scared girl, a girl who once was told that talking was bad. You can't force her so hard and so fast," he scolded.

"Excuse me, but it's been nearly three weeks," April defended.

"I don't care if it's been three years," Kurt said. "You need to back off a bit. Don't push her so fast. She needs time to accept that your motives are to help her. Obviously she doesn't trust you, so you have to fix it before she'll do what you ask," Kurt said.

"Well it would help a lot more if her Mommy would encourage her to do as I ask," April said and she looked up at the clock. "Alright Marley, today is over. Later today we'll try again," she said. "Santana please explain to her that I'm trying to help her get better," April said and she left the three of them alone.

"Mommy," Marley whimpered.

"I"m here baby," Santana told her kindly.

"I'm going to get a water, do you want one?" Kurt asked and Santana squeaked when Marley gripped tightly to her body, Kurt's voice sending her into a further state of panic.

"Easy love, easy, easy," Santana said gently and she loosened Marley's grip. "Yeah, thanks," she told him and he left the room. "What happened to my sweet baby girl? Why are you so scared honey?" she asked her gently. Marley shook her head and Santana smiled. "No you're not scared, or no you're not going to tell me?" she asked gently giving her a lot of tender kisses to her temple.

"Mommy," Marley said softly.

"Yes baby, Mommy," Santana told her gently and Marley looked over toward where Kurt had been and then looked back at Santana in confusion. "What sweetheart?" Santana asked her kindly. Marley looked at Santana with big eyes wanting an explanation of Kurt but she didn't want to verbally say so. "You know what my love, I don't know what you want, and until you're ready to tell me, I can't really explain anything, so I want to talk to you about my friend Kurt okay?" she asked her and Marley nodded sighing in relief. She hadn't communicated it, but she was getting what she wanted anyway. It was just another reason to trust Santana. Santana was slow and careful and explained everything to Marley as best she could.

"Do you remember when we talked about Kurt yesterday?" she asked and Marley nodded yes. It didn't hurt to nod anymore and even if it did, it didn't matter, because every day it hurt a little less. "I'm glad my baby. So today he came to visit you and get to know you a little. His name is Kurt, and I know that might hurt your mouth, but I want you to try a little bit okay?" she asked and Marley's eyes instantly filled with tears. "Shhh, you're not in trouble sweetheart, I promise. I just ask that you try a little bit," she told her.

Kurt returned a few moments later and found the girls cuddled together and Marley crying. "Hi Marley, I'm Kurt," he said taking a seat far enough away from her to make her feel comfortable and carefully cracked up the water bottle. "I know that Mommy makes you feel safe and that's good you deserve that," he told her. "I don't know if Mommy told you about me, did she?" he asked.

"K-eh," Marley pushed out softly.

"Yes, that's right, my name is Kurt," he smiled at her and Santana beamed. Marley had tried and Kurt did not correct her. "So I brought you some water. Mommy says you like to drink a lot of fluids to help your mouth heal. So I brought you this. I'll give it to you, because I heard you're getting very strong and can hold things on your own now," he said. She nodded slowly and pushed her body into Santana, needing to remind herself that she was in a safe place, with safe people. Kurt even called her Mommy and he didn't talk down to her, the way Terri had for so long.

Marley started to cautiously take the bottle but then stopped. Kurt smiled and looked at Santana. "I can put it here for you," he told her and carefully placed the water bottle down.

"Do you want help baby?" Santana asked kindly going to pick up the bottle for her. With a deep breath Marley picked up the bottle herself and tried not to drop it. "Yaaaay Marley," Santana cheered.

"Wow! Mommy's right Marley, you're getting so very strong, that's awesome," he praised her, smiling brightly and Santana nodded her appreciation and approval. "Yeah, but see now the trick is can you drink from it," he said and Marley frowned immediately. He had been so supportive a second ago, what happened now, she wondered. Santana raised and eyebrow and Kurt simply smiled. "See, when I first drink out of these, every time, every time Marley, I spill water down the front of my shirt. Every time. They always fill it to the tippy top, so when you tilt it to get it to your mouth it dribbles down your shirt. I can't tell you how many times your Mommy and our friend Rachel have smiled and told me to change my shirt, or in one case my pants," he said. Santana's eyebrows shot up to her forehead. In the five years she lived with Kurt, this had never happened. He had just fabricated an entire story, and told it with such conviction that he had Santana wracking her brain trying to remember one incident where this had happened.

"Can we drink the water now please?" Santana asked.

"I bet she does a better job than I do," Kurt said, because he realized now that he had to live up to his story. He had to spill something, he just told Marley it happened every single time.

Marley gave a soft sigh and wiggled in Santana's lap, feeling sleepy all of a sudden. Santana smiled and carefully shifted Marley so that she was sitting sideways and Santana could wrap her arms around her. "Come on baby, I will help you, I promise," Santana told her and Marley nodded her agreement before Santana carefully opened the bottle. "I will help, I promise, but I want us to do this together. You hold the bottle with me okay?" she asked gently.

Kurt watched in awe. He'd never seen Santana like that. This was not the rough and tough girl from high school. This was Mommy Santana and he found he liked this side of her. He didn't know if she was just acting, but he was very impressed with his friend's newly discovered side; or acting skills.

Marley put her hand on Santana's and they brought it to her lips, very carefully, helping her drink and Santana was very careful about controlling how much water Marley took in. Once a quarter of the bottle was gone, Santana put it down and kissed Marley's cheek gently. "I'm very proud of you baby," she told her.

"Okay, my turn," Kurt said. "No laughing okay?" he asked looking hopefully at Marley. She simply blinked at him. Nodding was earned and he hadn't earned it yet.

"You can show her, she blinked," Santana said with a bit of amusement because she knew now that Kurt was going to be wearing his water shortly. He lifted the bottle to his mouth, tipped it a bit too soon, on purpose, and very quickly had a large water spill on his shirt.

"Ugh, every time," he frowned.

* * *

Santana had been consistent for three solid weeks now and finally Marley was being released from the hospital. It was to happen in the next three days and she was doing a lot of preparing and a lot of thinking. "Berry! When are you off?" she yelled from the bathroom as she finished brushing her teeth.

"We're dark the next two days, but I have rehearsal tuesday afternoon," Rachel yelled back. Kurt stayed in his room listening to the girls scream back and forth. He wondered if all women did this. He used to yell for his father, but Burt would hear him and go to him to have the discussion. The same went for Kurt. If Burt yelled for him, he would go and they would talk. He didn't understand the whole yelling thing.

"I need you to come with me to the hospital tomorrow then!" Santana called back.

"Why?" Rachel yelled and then turned on the hair dryer.

Kurt couldn't help but laugh to himself. Rachel asked a direct question. Santana was bound to answer it. Now Rachel was running the hair dryer so she wouldn't be heard, Santana would have to yell louder, still wouldn't be heard, then she'd run over to Rachel and go full blown Lima Heights on her. He stood up and went to go watch. He would never understand women.

To his utter surprise, he found Santana now in the same room as Rachel with a brush in her hand, fixing Rachel's hair and then turning off the dryer. He leaned against the door frame and watched Santana pin Rachel's hair with two small bobby pins and then picked up the brush one last time. "You can't ask me a question and then turn on the dryer so you can't hear my answer," she said and gave her a quick smack to her ass with the brush.

"She's not a sub!" Kurt said quickly.

"Relax, I didn't hurt her."

"She didn't, thank you though," Rachel said and pet the side of Kurt's face. "Okay, now, tell me why," she said and Santana smirked and turned on the hair dryer, moving her mouth while saying nothing. Rachel simply laughed picked up the hair brush and tapped Santana the way she'd been tapped moments ago.

"How do you two ever get anything done?" Kurt laughed and left them alone.

The girls went into the kitchen and Santana started to prepare several small meals, trying to get things in order and talked to Rachel. "I need you to come with me to meet Marley. She's being released in three days. I want her to meet you too. She's met Kurt, she has to meet you too," Santana said.

"I can go tomorrow before rehearsal, or I can go some time today."

"Tomorrow. Today I will be there, but I have my own appointment with Miss Susan," she said.

"Who's that?"

"The head Nanny at the club." Rachel just stared at her curiously waiting for more of an explanation but Santana didn't give one. She simply packed up all her little sandwich baggies and started to put them in her bag that she always took with her when she left the apartment.

"Hold it, get back here! Why are you going to see the Nanny?" Rachel said following her out of the kitchen.

"I'm going to be late for therapy today so walk and talk," Santana said going into her bedroom to find the last few things she was missing.

"Okay, I'm with you, now why are you going to see the Nanny?"

"Do you know who to change a diaper, or "baby proof" an apartment?" Santana asked her as she ducked down to the floor and pulled a box out from under her bed ruffling through it.

"No, but you're not making any sense," Rachel countered.

"Marley is coming to live with us. For all intents and purposes, she's a toddler. I know nothing about toddlers, you just told me you didn't and Lady Hummel would rather not deal with any child unless they are five and older," Santana said pulling out a large piece of fabric and refolded it to fit in her bag. Then she pushed the box back under the bed and pulled out another one. She rummaged through it for a while and as she got closer to the bottom she smiled, pulling out a pacifier and looking at Rachel triumphantly. "Tomorrow, before your rehearsal, you come meet her, no backing out," Santana ordered.

"Not a sub!" Rachel snapped back.

"Sorry," Santana said half heartedly and then she raced out the door.

"Does she know it's her night to cook?" Kurt asked Rachel, who was still looking confused.

"I think so, she wrote dinner on the calender as to what she's making," Rachel said.

"You okay?" Kurt asked noticing something was off with her.

"Yeah, I think so," she said honestly.

"You think?"

"Well I don't know. Santana just pulled out feetie pajamas, a pacifier, packed up a whole bunch of small baggies of food, shoved it all in her bag and told me she was off to see the head Nanny at her job."

"Business I guess. Don't focus on it. Just know that when you meet Marley, you're not meeting a grown up, you're meeting a very smart, very abused, young lady, who would much rather act like a small child and when she's with Santana, she is that child. I can't explain it, you have to witness it for yourself," he said.


	3. Chapter 3

**Most importantly you MUST know that this is a much heavier chapter for the whole adult baby world and they are going to continue. Maybe not EVERY bit of EVERY chapter from here on out, but you have been warned!**

**First off, thank you to EVERYONE who has read & reviewed the story. If you haven't reviewed please do so, as I would love your thoughts. I will be honest and say that some times I feel stuck in the story, so feed back from you all is helpful in getting me to think a little more outside the box so to speak. At the moment I really only have a general idea of where this is going to go, so I ask that you please bare with me.**

**Secondly - MASSIVE MASSIVE thanks to nayafan, unholyunderboob, & beaner008. I really can't thank you enough. You are VERY inspiring people. Please know that if I could link to you guys I would, but as I don't know how, someone has to teach me.**

**Lastly - Happy Sunday to all the readers & remember Reviews keep me motivated!**

**Wishing you all the best ~ Molly**

* * *

Susan smiled as Santana walked in the door and gave her a tight hug. "Hey honey," she said and combed her fingers through Santana's poker straight hair.

"Hi Miss Susan," Santana smiled cuddling into the older woman, who was very maternal. She'd learned a lot from her already and while she was a little bit nervous about what she had to do next, she knew it had to be done. Things didn't work any other way for her. Miss Beth had been crystal clear from the beginning. In any session, with any client, if you didn't know what it felt like, how could you do your job correctly. Training had involved a lot of new experiences for Santana. Electrostim, massage, fingering, fisting, bondage, handcuffs, spanking, caning, paddling, food play, and hydro play. Santana had wanted to be the best at everything, she'd made that clear. However when it came to scat and blood play, Santana had thrown up quite a few times and Miss Beth told her she was not going to perform Mistress duties with clients asking for those specific things. She would either team up, or they would be reassigned, but she wasn't to be in the room. Santana had protested, but Miss Beth explained very calmly to her, after spanking her for disrespect, that it didn't mean she wasn't great at what she did. _"All it means is that, this is not for you. We can revisit it in a month or two, but right now, you are off limits to those activities," Miss Beth had told her._

"So my little fire ball, when does your precious come to live with you and did you bring everything I asked for?" Susan asked her.

Santana nodded and gave Susan her bag. "Almost everything is in there," she said.

"Good girl. Now, we have to take you in the back and get you changed," Susan said and wrapped a protective arm around Santana hoping to help ease the girl's fears. "It's not permanent Santana, but you know as well as I do, that if you don't feel it, you're not going to know how to help her, and I will help you as best I can along the way. We have three hours, so tell me why you're so apprehensive."

"What if I get turned on?" she asked a blush falling over her face faster than Susan had ever seen.

"Then I will take care of you. It won't count against you. I won't punish you. You can't help how your body is going to react and I can guarantee you that while your precious may have thought it's what she wanted, it isn't now. Once Terri did all those awful things to her, she stopped wanting them. Terri took away the pleasure, but she did it for so long that now Marley is stuck with these thoughts that what she wants is a terrible thing. You have to help her find a new way to A) get what she wants and B) get out of the situation she's in," Susan explained.

"I didn't have any diapers," Santana said once they were in the privacy of the room.

"I have plenty, don't worry. My loves won't even notice two or three missing."

"Only one!" Santana said strongly as Susan rooted through her bag. She found the pacifier first and pushed it to Santana's mouth.

"Stop talking," she told her seriously and Santana frowned but didn't say another word. She did however go to take the pacifier out. "No! That stays," Susan said sternly, but gently as she pressed a finger to Santana's lips to keep it in place. "It's not punishment Santana, it's to help you. You are one of the best Mistresses this club has seen in a long time. You challenge yourself and your clients. You do a wonderful job, no one is disputing that, but right now, with me, you are my little Sanny. You do not get to control things, because for the most part Marley doesn't get to control things. We are doing a crash course immersion for you. You need to know what Marley feels. It's not forever for you. For her it may very well be. Terri took a lot from her, including some basic fundamentals like toilet training and speech. I won't take any fundamentals away from you and I will explain everything to you as we go along, but you, right now, are my little Sanny. Santana is a grown up girl who isn't here and won't be here for another three hours, understand?" Susan lectured.

With a very heavy sigh, Santana nodded. "Good," Susan smiled and she took the pacifier out. "Let's establish some basics okay?" she asked kindly. "First, how does Marley communicate?"

"She blinks, or whimpers, or cries, or sometimes she nods her head. For me it's all of those things. With her therapists it's only whimpers or cries. For her nurses when she's changed, it's only crying and it takes a long time for it to stop," Santana explained.

"Does she say any words at all?" Susan asked.

"Mommy and Kurt," she smiled.

"You're mommy?" Santana nodded. "And she says Kurt?"

"Well, no, she says K-eh, but she's only said it around him."

"Nothing with Rachel?"

"Not yet. I've shown her pictures and videos but Rachel hasn't made it in yet. We're both going tomorrow. I'll prepare her for that tonight," she said.

Susan nodded and picked up the pacifier, smiling when Santana worked her jaw around it a bit. "This is only for five minutes tops, but you have to see what it feels like. If you find comfort in it, then great, if you find it frustrating, then that's fine too, but you have to find out so you can find out what it might do for Marley. I really want you to tell her what this was like for you. You don't have to do it in front of anyone else, but I want you to use it as a better bonding session with her, okay?" she asked and with sad eyes, Santana nodded. She was afraid she was going to hate it so much that she would have to give it up, like she had the scat and blood play.

"Sanny, it's me, you're safe, nothing bad is going to happen to you here, do you understand that?" Susan asked gently, seeing fear in Santana's eyes. Santana nodded and Susan smiled and gave her a kiss. "Alright, so we're going to do this, bit by bit, okay? I know your concerned about her living with you and that you don't have the house proofed for her. There's a difference though. Marley isn't an actual toddler, she knows right from wrong. I don't think she's going to put her fingers in an electrical socket, however, if you want, it's usually best for you to hold her hand as you walk around the house. She's probably going to want to be with you all the time once you move her into the house anyway," Susan said.

Santana nodded and thought for a bit. Marley was glued to her side now when she showed up at the hospital. To put her in a new place was going to be traumatic for her and that just caused Santana more fear.

"Sanny, look at Nana," Susan said pulling her out of her thoughts. Santana looked up and Susan was holding out her hand to Santana. Santana took it and Susan smiled. "Nana likes to have her little ones next to her at all times, no exceptions, so when you have your precious with you, to help remind her she's with you this is what you can do," she explained.

Santana stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Susan. Marley wasn't mobile. Thinking about it for a moment more, Santana carefully slunk down to the floor and just sat there, looking up at Susan. "Are you going to sit there all day?" Susan asked her. Santana shook her head and waited for Susan to catch on. "What's wrong Sanny, are you scared?" Susan asked her kindly. Santana shook her head no. "Do you want to continue to learn what you can do to help Marley?" Santana nodded yes. "So then why aren't you standing with Nana?" Susan asked her genuinely. Santana glanced at the clock. Two minutes had ticked by, she still had three with that pacifier. She wasn't going to take it out and anger Susan, but at the same time, if she was to put herself directly in Marley's place, that meant not moving unless someone else moved her.

"Alright Sanny, we have to work on this. Why is Sanny not moving?" she asked her kindly and took the pacifier out of her mouth.

"Marley can't walk," she told her.

"How does Marley get around?"

"Nurses," Santana said simply.

"I think Nana has her work cut out for her then," Susan smiled.

* * *

It took some doing, but two hours later Santana had gotten a lot of helpful information from Susan and no longer had her pacifier in, which she was grateful for. The only thing they had left to tackle was diapers and Santana did not look happy.

"Sanny, if you give Nana any trouble, you're going to be in time out with a sore bottom," Susan told her firmly.

Santana pouted and looked at Susan. "No diapers," she said with frustrated tears in her eyes and Susan gave a very tight smile. The tears were actually a good sign. Santana was in a place where she was scared, and frustrated, and communication was not happening for her, which was exactly everything Marley felt all the time.

"Sanny, baby girls where diapers."

"No, I'm big," she protested.

"What did Nana say when you walked in this room at the beginning? Do you remember?"

"I'm Sanny," she said softly.

"Yes, you are, you are my very special, very talented, very lovely little Sanny, and little Sanny where's diapers," Susan said.

"No," she said sadly.

"You know what love? Little Sanny has to help big girl Santana otherwise, there is no way that big girl Santana, Mistress Santana, or Mommy Santana will be able to help little Marley, and I know that big girl Santana wants to do her very best when it comes to Marley."

"Can't go," Santana whimpered.

"I"m not going to make you if you can't honey," Susan said softly keeping Santana in a tight hug. "Look here," she said kindly sitting down on the floor and pulling Santana into her arms, much the same way Santana cuddled Marley already. It took a moment for her to realize it and then she spoke up kindly before Susan could continue with her statement.

"Nana?" she asked softly.

"Yes my love?"

"You hold all babies like this?" she asked.

"I do, it's a very mothering hug. It's something that makes them feel safe and loved and comforted. That's why Nana holds all her babies like this," Susan said.

"Big girl Santana does that too," she said proudly.

"So then big girl Santana should never worry about not being a good Mommy toward Marley. Those natural Mommy techniques are probably already in her. I heard a secret though. Do you want to hear it?" Santana nodded eagerly. "I heard that Marley was very very injured and now she has to have her Mommy learn to change her diapers, otherwise, she's not going to heal, it's a very sad situation."

"Her Mommy doesn't know how," Santana said.

"I know, that's why she sent you to see me. If little Sanny can lay still for Nana for just a little while, and be unhappy for just a little tiny while, she'll be able to help big girl Santana so that Marley never has to feel as scared and upset as big girl Santana is afraid she will make her," Susan explained.

"I can't pee myself Nana," Santana whimpered, little tears falling down her cheeks and Susan gently brushed them away with the pads of her fingers.

"I wouldn't do that to anyone," Susan said. "Nana would never make someone mess themselves on purpose. Nana doesn't think that's a very nice thing. In fact Nana would very much love to give anyone who does that to people a very hard spanking and a very long time out," she said and Santana gave a little smile.

"I can't pee myself Nana. How do I help?" she asked.

"It's going to be a little bit uncomfortable sweetheart, but you'll be with Nana the entire time and we're in a very safe place. Nana even has a few toys for you to play with while we go through everything as carefully as possible," she said.

"Kay. But I really don't wanna," Santana said honestly.

"Sanny, Nana is very happy you are being so honest with her," Susan praised. "Come on love. We're going to lay you down on the changing table and be very gentle with you. You'll have to feel it and get used to it, so you can tell Big Girl Santana what it's like and help her, help Marley," Susan said

Santana whimpered but let Susan lead her to the oversized changing table and help her onto it. Susan laid a gentle hand on Santana's belly and Santana started to cry immediately. "I'm not taking anything away Sanny. Nothing at all. It's Nana baby. You're very safe. Nothing bad will happen to you while Nana takes care of you. It's scary to have to trust someone else with something so intimate isn't it?" she asked her and Santana found herself struggling to breathe and in floods of tears. "Shhh, Nana's here, you're very safe sweetheart. I would never hurt you, and I'm not going to force you to do anything you can't do."

"No diapers," Santana cried.

"Shhh, I'm not going to make you use them Sanny. You are Nana's brave baby girl. Nana just wants you to feel something. Remember how Marley needs help?" she asked and Santana swallowed her hiccups, pushed out a controlled breath and tried to shake her head yes, but it wasn't easy. "You're doing so well Sanny. Nana is so so proud of her little girl," she praised her and she didn't proceed until Santana was calmer.

"Okay my sweet girl, let's talk it through. Nana wants her little Sanny to understand everything very clearly," she told her and as she talked she took off Santana's jeans and thong. "First we feel," Susan said and she pulled out a diaper. "This is very big isn't it honey?" she asked and Santana nodded, even though there was nothing but fear in her eyes. "It's alright, nice and slow my love," Susan assured her. "Okay, so I want Sanny to touch it and tell me what you feel," she said handing it to her and Santana held it, running it through her fingers in order to get a good feel, inside and out. What does it feel like sweetheart?"

"Soft inside," Santana said honestly.

"Do you think that diapers hurt Marley?"

"No. Terri made her hurt," Santana said.

"That's right," she smiled honestly. "Now, when Marley lived with Terri, Terri left Marley in diapers for a very long time, so I want you to feel a little bit what that was like," she said and Santana looked very nervous all over again. "Shhh, it's alright. Not long. I want you to get a quick idea. Very quick," she assured her.

Santana closed her eyes and let the tears fall slowly. "It's alright Sanny, nice and slow," she said kindly and carefully opened the diaper and put it under Santana. "Sanny, look at me baby, just look at Nana, nice and slow. I know you're scared, but you're doing so well. I'm so proud of you," she told her.

"Sanny go away, Sanny go away," Santana cried softly. She wanted to stop. This was getting to be too much, she was starting to feel that pit in her stomach, the one that would make her hurl any second.

Susan paused immediately and took Santana's face gently in her hands, forcing her to look directly at Susan. "Are you sure sweetheart, because we're almost done and as soon as we are, big girl Santana will come back and be ready to be the best Mommy possible," Susan said. She could tell this was a bit too much, but she really wanted to push through this.

"Don't like it," Santana said sadly.

"I know baby, but just keep looking at Nana and we'll be done so soon, I promise you," Susan told her. She then picked up the front of the diaper and taped it into place and Santana panicked immediately. Susan put very firm hands on her shoulder and had her breathe and focus. Eventually she calmed and Susan smiled at her. "What do you feel Sanny?" she asked her.

"Warm and um, I don't know. Just warm for sure. Safe kinda, but not really," she said between hiccups and gasps for breath."

"Well that's good. Safe is a good word," Susan grinned. "Now, see baby here's the problem baby Marley has a problem doesn't she?"

"Yes. She can't control herself. It just comes out of her and then she cries," Santana said.

"Well I'm going to open up your diaper and pour some of this water," she said holding up a water bottle. "I"m going to pour it right where it would be, if you did pee yourself, and then tape you back in, and I just want you to feel, that's all sweetheart. I promise you that nothing bad will happen, you're just going to be a little bit uncomfortable for a little while. After that, you'll be all done and you and Nana will cuddle and wait for big girl Santana to come back to us, okay?" she asked and with tears in her eyes Santana agreed.

Susan poured the water into the diaper and then taped it into position. At first everything was fine, but then the feeling of this-isn't-so-bad, changed to, get-this-off-of-me-now and Santana began to panic. The tears poured out of her eyes and she cried so quickly that Susan was even caught off guard a bit. The soft tears became louder cries, and then wails, until they reached screams of discomfort and panic.

"Shhh, Sanny, it's alright, look at Nana," she said and Santana wiggled and tried to get away. "Sanny," Susan said firmly. "Sanny, look at Nana. Look right at me baby. As soon as you calm down, and tell me what you feel, it comes off. As soon as you calm down honey, I promise," she assured her.

* * *

Santana walked into the hospital and went straight to Marley's room. She was so familiar now to most of the staff that they didn't even bother having her sign in. She went over to the therapy room and her heart broke. Off in the back corner was Joe sitting with Marley, trying to help her out and all she was doing was fighting to get away from him and crying. She kept trying to push him away, but her strength hadn't come back yet. To his credit, he didn't force her. He did for her, what Susan had done for little Sanny, which was just, be firm and try to talk calmly and rationally to her. Unfortunately for Joe, it wasn't working.

"May I?" Santana asked him softly. Marley was so far gone that she didn't even register Santana was in the room.

"I'm trying to get her to cooperate. We're working on core strength and she needs to be changed," he said and Santana nodded. She could smell it. The ammonia from the urine soaked diaper was very strong indeed. She had no idea how Marley could even stand a little bit of wetness. Her rashes were bandaged and heavily coated in hydrocortizone and desitin and any other rash remedy the hospital had on hand. Dr. Martinez had been very clear about that. They had to get them disinfected and dried up as fast as possible, to keep the poor girl off of sedation and out of pain.

"Marley, look at Santana," Santana told her and Marley yelled in anger. Santana was her Mommy, why did she insist otherwise. "How long has she been at therapy?" Santana asked turning away to look at Joe, not seeing Marley fall to the floor, so she could wiggle her way to Santana's lap.

"Two and a half hours," Joe said simply and then pointed at Marley.

"Off the floor young lady, come here," Santana told her and she scooted closer, pulled Marley into her arms and held her tightly. Marley immediately put her head on Santana's shoulder and wrapped her arms around her neck, struggling to lift them into position. Santana sighed and pushed her own back against the wall, keeping Marley plastered to her front. "Shhh, shhh, shhh," she cooed softly. "You sit here with me and when you are calm we will talk," she told her gently and then looked at Joe. "You sit there and tell me all about her therapy session today," she ordered him pointing to a spot just in front of her.

"You're much too strong," he told her seriously. He liked Santana, he thought she was very good for Marley, but her attitude was sometimes too much to take. She wasn't in charge of everyone and if Joe was right in his suspicions, she wasn't even truly in charge of Marley.

"I get on a roll," she said brushing him off as she continued to rub and pat Marley's back gently. She knew exactly how distressed Marley felt, because for the last twenty minutes with Susan, she'd been in the exact same position. Susan helped Santana temporarily go to a place where Marley lived all the time. Frustrated, broken, and scared. It was not fun.

"We need time alone Joe," Santana said.

"Do you want a nurse? She does have to be changed."

"No, just leave me the things she needs and I'll take care of it," she said simply. Joe gave her a small, doubtful look, but she glared at him in return and he backed off. He went to the supply closet, got her a fresh diaper, a box of baby wipes, a selection of rash creams, and left them alone.

Marley was a bit calmer now and Santana rubbed her back lovingly. "When you're ready sweetheart you pull back and look at me. We need to talk and then we need to get you changed, because I am one hundred percent sure that you don't feel comfortable," Santana told her kindly.

It didn't take long. After a slightly tighter hug, Marley pushed back, wobbling to stay seated straight in Santana's lap. "There's my beautiful girl," she smiled. "So, here's the thing. I want to tell you a story, but you need to be changed, and fast. We haven't done that yet, but if you trust me, then I will change you and tell you the story at the same time," she explained. "So tell me my sweet love, do you trust me enough to let me change you?"

"Mommy," Marley said softly and tiredly.

"I need a true answer sweetheart, can we try a yes or no please?" Santana asked. Marley nodded yes and then went a bit limp. Santana could see fear in her eyes and made her voice very soft and gentle. "Okay sweetheart, back we go," she said carefully and laid her down on her back and Marley whimpered. "I know sweetheart, I know, I'm so sorry baby, eyes on me, I will keep you safe," she told her lovingly.

Santana very carefully pulled down Marley's sweat pants, working them carefully to her ankles. "Nice and easy baby, very easy, I promise," she said. Once the sweatpants were down Santana stopped and waited for a moment. "So I promised you a story didn't I?" she smiled as she carefully rubbed her hands on Marley's ankles to help calm her, knowing it was a calming point on pretty much everyone's body.

"What's my name lovely?"

"Mommy," Marley said honestly.

"Alright, so earlier today, Mommy went to her job. Do you know what my job is? Do you remember?" she asked and Marley nodded. Santana smiled and shook her head. "You don't get away that easy. Is Mommy a singer, a mail person, or a mistress?" she asked. Marley worked her jaw, but didn't know how to answer the question. The words weren't going to come out easily and she knew it. "Look lovely," Santana said kindly, holding up her left hand repeating each job and adding fingers. Marley gave a sigh of relief, a small smile and reached out, pointing to the third finger. "Very good my love," Santana said and she untaped the diaper and Marley tensed.

"Shhh, we're going very easy baby, I promise. So, Mommy went to work, and had a session with Miss Susan," she said. "Miss Susan is a Nanny at my job. Lots of people come to the club and ask Miss Susan to be their Nanny for a little while and she is very good at her job," she said and Marley gave a curious look. "So Mommy went to see miss Susan and asked her to be my Nanny for a few hours. I had to do that, because pretty soon, my lovely Marley will be coming home with me, and I have to make sure I know how to take care of a little girl. The only way to do that, was for Mommy to be the little girl, and experience as much as you do. I had a pacifier, a bottle, and a diaper," she said and Marley's eyes went wide.

"I have to change it now sweetheart. Yucky diaper off and clean one on," she said. "Now Joe told me that you're getting very strong in your core. Do you think you can plant your feet and lift your hips a little bit for me?" she asked.

Marley started to cry immediately and Santana felt her heart break. She was obviously doing something wrong and Marley either couldn't, or wouldn't communicate her fears and Santana took a deep breath. "Shh, shh, shh. Look at Mommy baby, look at me, you're okay," she said putting a free hand on her cheek, to help calm her. Her cheeks were still bruised from where Terri had pinched them repeatedly, but Marley knew Santana's touch now, so she didn't flinch any more. "Marley baby, Mommy wants to help you. I do, but I don't know how, so Mommy is going to call a nurse and we're going to do this together and then Mommy is going to finish her story," she told her and Marley continued to cry, but kept a semi tight grip on Santana's hand.

Santana reached for the intercom button and called to the front desk. "Yes, this is Santana in the therapy room. I need to change Marley, and I need a refresher lesson in how to do it," she said seriously.

Nurse Emma walked in a few moments later and grinned. "Hi, I hear you need a lesson," she said and Marley started to cry. She didn't like how the staff talked to Santana. "Marley. We're going to change you, that's all it is, and Santana is right here to be with you the entire time."

"Mommy!" Marley growled with tears in her eyes.

"Yes, Mommy," Emma said kindly and she moved over to Marley's hips. "Okay, Mommy," she said carefully and looked at Santana. "Who's doing this?"

"Me," Santana said strongly and reached up to cup Marley's face. "Shhh, just keep your eyes on me sweetheart. I'm right here okay?" she asked her gently and then looked at Emma.

"Well you untaped her diaper, so that's a good start. Now you have to wipe her down before you put on the clean one, and I'm telling you now, it's going to hurt her and she's going to scream. She does it every time. The rash has blisters and when we clean them, it hurts, so just sort of ignore her screams and get the job done," Emma said and Marley's body went rigid, her body struggling to take in a breath.

"I'm here Marley, Mommy's right here. I'll be as gentle as possible," she told her and felt her own heart breaking.

"Okay, so you're going to place your non dominant hand on the small of her back and lift up, using your dominant hand to wipe her off. Always start at the top and pull down toward you," Emma explained.

Santana took a deep breath and then put her eyes on Marley's skin. It was purple, pink, red, and blue. Terri had left Marley in her diapers for hours at a time, and by that point, her muscles were so weak, that she had no control over them. Sitting in her own urine and feces for hours at a time before Terri would think about changing her and she never really cleaned her up, she just put on a new diaper and then left Marley in a dark room, by herself. Marley screamed as Santana wiped her down and Emma nodded her approval. "Very good, now you put all the dirty wipes here, and push it aside and then slide the new clean diaper under her," she said. Santana did it as fast as possible and then quickly slid the new diaper under her. "Good, now just put any of these creams on her. This one, is the one that she doesn't scream as much with. Unfortunately until she heals a little more, it's all going to hurt her," Emma explained as kindly as possible. Santana finished changing Marley and then put her pants back on.

"I want private time with her," she told Emma.

"I can keep people out of this room," Emma offered.

"I really want a rocking chair," Santana thought and pulled Marley up into her arms. As well as Marley was doing, she was still very thin and frail. Her body hurt her a lot of the time and Santana's heart broke every time Marley would scream in pain.

Marley's cries were loud and strong and she was begging for her Mommy. She wanted to pain to stop, she wanted it to go away and just be better. The cries were so intense that Santana felt her heart breaking.

"Alright princess. Alright, let's get you calm and Mommy will finish her story," she said and she kept Marley close, speaking gently to her, telling her all about her time with Susan and how she experienced as much as she could so that she could better understand what Marley's situation was. "I know it hurts now baby, but I will do everything I can to help you get better and get you to the safest place possible," she promised and Marley cried, but she didn't dare let go of Santana. Santana made Marley feel safe.

* * *

Santana dragged herself home to find Rachel drying dishes and Kurt making dinner. "How late am I? I thought it was my night?" she said.

"It is, and you're not late, but rumor has it you had a really long day, so we decided to help you out a bit," Rachel said. "How's Marley?" she asked.

"She's sleeping, finally," Santana said as she gently pushed Kurt out of the way and continued to brown the chicken, noticing that they were following her recipe.

"Finally?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, she um, she had a melt down I guess. She was exhausted and it took me an hour to calm her down and nearly two more to get her to fall asleep. Terri abused her," Santana said, her features hardening as the anger she felt of the situation came to the surface.

"I thought we knew this," Rachel said kindly and Santana nodded, but didn't speak. "So what is different about today?" Rachel pressed gently. "I mean what new information did you get today that you never had before," she clarified, more so for Kurt than for Santana.

Santana said nothing, she just focused on the chicken and as she continued helping to cook dinner, flashes of Marley's bruised and battered body flashed through her mind. She was in another world and working on a hot stove. This was not a good combination and Kurt saw trouble coming. He looked over at Rachel and then walked closer to her. "Sneak off and order her favorite take out and then just get me whatever it is I like from where ever it is that you order," he told her.

It took all of two minutes, for Santana to blindly pick up the browning chicken, with the tongs and whip it across the room, screaming in frustration and anger and finally broke down into her own tears. She slumped down to the floor and cried in anger. Kurt watched and let her be for a moment, but when she didn't calm down, in a reasonable amount of time, he walked over to her and wrapped his arms tight around her. "Communication, right Santana? So spit it out. What happened? What do you need help with? How can Rachel and I be your support team?" he asked softly and she started to fight him, struggling to get out of his grip. "You know, Auntie Tana. You're allowed to need someone to lean on too," he said loosening his grip and as soon as the words left his mouth, she calmed down. Being a Mistress had changed her slightly, for the better of course. She'd learned that she didn't have to be the only one in charge of everything, that it was okay to get help.

"She's every color under the sun. There are bruises all over her body, but the ones on her bottom. I can't handle it. I can't see that every day, multiple times a day," she cried.

"What bruises?" he asked.

"Everywhere. Just raw, and angry red streaks. Patches of purple. Slight shades of blues, greens, and yellows, but mostly red and white. The blisters, the rashes, she's just, she didn't deserve that," Santana said pushing her tears away angrily.

"No, she didn't," he agreed. "She deserves a loving relationship, where she feels safe, loved, cared for, and above all trusts the person or persons who are with her, and you are giving that to her Santana. But for now, you have to tell us how we can help more," he said and she leaned into him and let his words settle over her.

"I said I wanted a challenge," she said softly.

"Yes you did and someone, somewhere, in the universe, they heard you, and the challenge was put to you. You're doing a very good job Santana. I hope you're giving yourself credit," he told her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes at the end...**

* * *

The next morning, Rachel paced her bedroom in her bathrobe and tried to come up with the perfect outfit. She finally settled on a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. "You look nervous," Kurt said from the doorway.

"I don't want to screw this up," she said.

"I don't think you can. Marley doesn't want anything to do with us, she just wants Santana. You'll be lucky she acknowledges you at all."

"She acknowledged you," Rachel pointed out.

"She said K-eh, because that was all we could get out of her. You'll be lucky you get vowels, if nothing else. Secondly, you and Santana look similar, so I have a feeling you'll make her feel more comfortable than I do," he told her honestly.

"You're so sure about that?" she asked.

"More than anything. She's going to be more than attached to Santana, that won't change, but I can promise you, you'll very quickly become second in command," he said.

"We'll see," Rachel said simply.

"Berry! Move it! We can't be late. Therapy starts in an hour, and the subways are over crowded!" Santana called from her bedroom.

"She's too bossy," Rachel pouted.

"She's doing everything she can think of to keep Marley safe and happy," he told her and then leaned in and gently bumped their foreheads together. "I agree with you though," he told her lovingly and she smiled, letting a little giggle pass her lips. "You're going to be fine Rach," he told her.

* * *

They walked into Marley's room and Rachel stood back. "Mommy!" Marley called sadly from the bed.

"That is one of the sadder voices I've heard baby, are you okay?" she asked and Marley burst into tears immediately. "Shhh, tell me love, what's wrong?" she asked gently. She moved to the bed, got in behind her and cuddled her close. "Shhh, Mommy's here, you're okay," she soothed and Rachel let a sad smile cross her lips. Santana didn't talk like that ever. Santana wasn't this calm, gentle, delicate person. "Well she is," Rachel thought, "but only when I challenge her and point out how mean she is to me and that I've had enough of it," she thought.

Rachel continued to stand in the doorway and watch. Santana looked around and picked up the teddy bear and handed it to her. "Look, Teddy Bear," she said kindly and gave it to Marley, along with a few kisses to the top of her head as she tried to get Marley to rest and calm down. "I'm here sweetheart, you're safe," she said and she carefully took Marley's hand in hers and noticed how dry her skin was. "Oh, I see, do your fingers hurt? Do you want more lotion?" she asked and Marley nodded yes after a moment. She hadn't thought about it, but if Santana said that they were dry then she would take it. It was the first bonding thing they had, so she knew this was safe.

"Are you going to block the doorway all day?" Santana asked Rachel and with a roll of her eyes, Rachel stepped into the doorway and stood on the other side. "Did you see Mommy's friend? That's Rachel," Santana explained and Marley went stiff. "Shhh, it's alright, remember when Kurt came to play with us the other day?" she asked and Marley blinked. If Santana wasn't looking at her, she would have missed it completely. "Well this is like that. Rachel is my other room mate and I wanted you to meet her too. Marley, anyone who I will ever bring into your life on a permanent basis, you will meet first, with me, and be completely safe in my arms, do you understand?" she asked and Marley blinked again. "Very good," Santana smiled. "Now, let's get some lotion on your hands, so they don't hurt you any more," she said.

Marley calmed down and Santana smiled happily and then looked to Rachel. "Me?" Rachel asked after she realized she was being stared at.

"No, the other Rachel standing in the room," Santana said. "Yes you." Santana had thought about calling her a hobbit, but that might have been too soon. Marley didn't know that Rachel and Santana tended to run hot and cold. Some days they were best friends and other days they were mortal enemies.

"Not the pet, I told you that last night!" Rachel said strongly. "If you want it done, you ask. You respect her, so you respect me too!" Rachel said seriously and Marley went tense. Rachel gave a huff, rolled her eyes and sat down. "It's okay Marley, I won't hurt you, and I know you don't know me, so I'm just going to sit here and tell you a story until you feel it's safe to give me your hand. I will massage them for you, because I know it helps you, but if your Mommy says one more word just to press my buttons I'm out of here, and I will see you when you move in with us. I'm not mad at you and I'm not even mad at your Mommy, but she tends to get on her high horse sometimes and forget that we're friends and equals, rather than Mistress, and sub or pet," Rachel said.

Marley seemed to take this information in and settled against Santana while Rachel started her story. "See, I met your Mommy nine years ago. We went to high school together, and to start out, we were not the best of friends. If anything we just maybe knew who each other were, but other than a name we didn't know anything else," Rachel explained as she picked up the bottle of lotion and began rubbing it between her hands. She'd remembered Santana's story from the very first day.

_"I put the lotion in my hands and just rubbed and rubbed, until she showed me she was ready to accept it. Her eyes got soft, and she seemed to want to feel whatever it was I was feeling. Her hands were cracked and raw, and so I decided that maybe if she saw me use it she wouldn't be so scared of it. I mean why would I use something on me if it was going to hurt her, right?"_, Santana had said. Rachel had paid close attention and it did not go unnoticed by Santana.

Rachel continued to babble on bringing Marley through their years of high school, sectionals, regionals, and nationals. "We spent a lot of time singing together and then Mommy went to college on a cheerleader scholarship and I came here to New York, to study at NYADA," Rachel said and then she smiled. Marley had put her hand out now and Rachel nodded. "If it's too much pressure or anything you just let me know somehow okay?" she smiled and Marley gave a smile and then wiggled into a more comfortable position.

Rachel continued the story, telling her about Finn, and Brody, and Marley wiggled again and then looked pointedly at Rachel. "You want to tell me something?" Rachel asked her kindly.

"Mommy?" she asked.

"Mommy's right behind you," she said and Santana smiled and gave her a kiss to her temple.

"I'm still here babe," Santana told her and Marley let out a little whimper.

"Mommy?" she asked again and she stared straight at Rachel.

"I don't understand sweetheart, I'm sorry," Rachel said honestly.

Marley let go of Rachel's hand and grabbed on to Santana's knee, because that was what was close. "Mommy," she said with finality.

"Yes, that is Mommy," Rachel told her.

Then Marley took Rachel's hand very carefully and looked at her seriously. "Mommy?" she asked.

"Does Rachel need a name?" Santana asked kindly and Rachel felt her heart melt as her chest tightened. Was Marley really asking for another Mommy, or at least a second mother figure? Did Rachel really get Marley to trust her so quickly?

"Mommy?" Marley asked again.

"We have to ask sweetheart. I'm glad you trust Rachel, that's very good. I'm glad that you know that I'm safe, as are Rachel and Kurt. I don't have a problem with you calling her Mommy, but we have to ask her," Santana said and Marley nodded continually, stopping only when the bruise on the back of her neck started to act up.

"I am very flattered Marley, but you have a Mommy and she loves you very much. I don't even think I could put it into words," Rachel said and Marley looked crushed.

"Mommy?" she asked again, although this time her voice was full of rejection and pain.

"It might be confusing if we all live together and you call out for Mommy. Who would show up?" she asked and Marley seemed to ponder this for a moment. "Marley. You can call me what you like, I don't mind about that, but I want you to know that your Mommy, Mommy Santana, is the very best you could ask for. She loves you so much, and I know that you two have built up a very solid trust. I would never, ever, want to take that from either of you. Does that make sense?" she asked.

Marley nodded and thought for a little bit more. "Ay shh," she finally said and then closed her eyes and shook her head no. She didn't like how that sounded.

"Look at me sweetheart. What are easy letters for you to say. I know your mouth is still healing," Rachel offered.

"Ay, Ma, ah," Marley said slowly, making the noises that didn't hurt the tender muscles in her cheeks.

"Marley baby, can you say Mama?" Santana asked her.

"Mama," Marley said.

"Are you sure though Marley? I want you to be absolutely sure. We just met, so I don't want you jumping into anything you truly aren't ready for," Rachel said.

"Rrrrr," Marley said and then she winced in a bit of pain. She looked over at the table next to her and reached for the juice. She carefully grabbed the cup and waiting for someone to pour it for her. "Mommy," she said to Santana this time.

"When you're better, the manners will follow. Please and thank you my love," Santana scolded lightly.

Marley very very carefully got herself to drink the juice and then looked at Rachel again. "Rrrr," she said and it hurt, but not as much. Another sip was followed by another growl until finally, Marley was just staring at Rachel and seemingly growling. Little tears stung her eyes, but she had to try, she had to make it work. She knew she could, she just had to try a little more, and it was very nice to try herself, and not have someone breathing too many words of encouragement down her neck. She genuinely thought she was in better care with Rachel and Santana rather than with the hospital staff.

"Rrrrr, to you too," Rachel smiled and she leaned in and gently kissed Marley on her forehead.

"Ae!" Marley pushed out finally and then caught herself at how loud she was when she saw Rachel jump.

"Did you not like that? I'm sorry," Rachel said.

"Rrrrr, ae," Marley pushed out carefully and smiled at Rachel. "Rrrrahe," she said and then shook her head no.

"Do you know this?" Rachel asked Santana kindly once Marley had closed her eyes to focus on her own voice.

Santana shook her head. "Mama," Marley said slowly. "Ma, ma, rrrrae," she pushed out. It was staccato and sounded wrong, but she took a sip of juice and tried again. Mam, ah, rrrrrrr," she said.

"Marley honey. Is that Mama Rae?" Santana asked after watching Marley struggle for a few minutes. Marley beamed up at Santana and snuggled in close, closing her eyes and wanting to go to sleep. "No, no, before you sleep, Mommy has to slip out," Santana said and Marley looked upset by this. "I'm not leaving you, just leaving the bed, you can rest, I'm not going anywhere," she said.

It took fifteen minutes until Marley fell completely to sleep. "So Mama Rae, what do you think?" Santana asked with a smirk.

"I think I'm in love," Rachel grinned.

* * *

Marley was getting ready for her release and Santana walked in with a bright smile, only to find her little girl in tears, looking very stressed and uncomfortable. "Hey baby," she grinned and then her smile fell from her face. "That is a very unhappy face, what's wrong sweetheart?" she asked and Marley started to reach for her. Santana stepped in closer and pulled her into a hug and Marley hung on and cried against her shoulder. "You're going to hyperventilate sweetheart take some breaths baby, as soon as you're calm we'll figure out whatever it is, I promise," she told her.

It took Marley several long minutes to calm down and then she looked at Santana with a tear stained face. "Sweetheart, let's figure this out okay? See, I've learned a few things being a woman and living with Mama Rae, which is girls cry for every reason every under the sun." Santana gave a list of options, ranging from sad, to scared, to angry, to just a plain bad day, and Marley said no to all of them. "You don't want to tell me yet, do you?" she asked and Marley nodded yes. Santana gave a heavy sigh and sat down. "You know what? That's okay," she assured her and Marley started to cry all over again. Santana frowned and pulled Marley gently into her lap, keeping her close. "Cry it out baby, it's okay. I'm not mad, and I'm not going to leave you. Tomorrow you get to come home with me, and Mama Rae, and Kurt, and we are so excited for you to come live with us. You're very special to us my darling," she assured her.

"Mommy," Marley said softly.

"What's up my love?" she asked.

"A, B," Marley said.

"A, B," Santana said and Marley wiggled her fingers indicating Santana should say those same letters faster. "Aybee. Baby?" she asked and Marley nodded. "What about a baby?"

"Me?" she asked.

"You're my baby," Santana told her gently adding a smile and a tender kiss.

Marley thought for a moment and then pointed to her wooden blocks that were over on the side table. Santana reached for the blocks and handed them to Marley and she very carefully started to pick up the blocks to spell the words she wanted. She picked up the B, then the A, then moved the B over, and then added the Y.

"Yes, baby, you said that before. You're my baby," Santana told her. "And Mama Rae's baby if you want to be and Kurt's as well if you want. But that is all up to you sweetheart, if you ever want to stop being our baby, for any length of time, all you have to do is tell us and we will stop babying you. Well, we will try, you're very cute, just make sure you tell us okay?" she asked and Marley nodded. "Any other questions?"

Marley picked up her blocks carefully. F...O...R...C...E...D. "Never," Santana told her, "but I want you to understand something okay? I will never force you to do something that will harm you, but I will force you to do things that I know will make you better," she said and she saw fear track across Marley's eyes. "Let me give you an example darling. When you first started therapy, you had to just move your arms remember? Joe wanted you to start small. So he would pick up your arm and then let it go again, do that a few times, and then ask you to do it yourself, and you shook your head no and refused to do it? Do you remember that?" she asked and Marley nodded. "Then you had a big tantrum and then I showed up and do you remember what I did?" she asked and Marley pouted.

"I guess that means yes huh?" she asked and Marley nodded. "Can you tell me?" she asked.

"Ock, a-wah," Marley said softly.

"Yes, Mommy talked to you a lot. Can I see your tongue please?" she asked her and Marley stuck out her tongue, the blisters on the tip of her tongue, were healing, but still not healed yet. For that reason, Marley couldn't say a lot of words. Any letters requiring her tongue to touch her teeth, she didn't say, which meant she talked with a severe lisp. "It is healing, and I am so proud of you for talking to me. That was an amazing effort," she told her and then refocused on the issue Marley was concerned about. "Mommy told you then, that the reason you had to do what Joe said was so you could get stronger. Strong women are not something people mess with. Strong women know what they want and being stronger means you get to get out of this hospital and start living more of your life. Do you still want that?" she asked kindly. Marley nodded and Santana smiled. "I might force you to do things sweetheart, but I will never force you to do something that will land you back here in the hospital. Nothing I make you do will ever, ever be done out of cruelty or with negative intentions. Terri was cruel to you. Mommy, Mama Rae, and Kurt will never be cruel to you," Santana told her.

"K-Eh," Marley said softly and Santana thought for a moment. Realizing she hadn't made her point, Marley changed her tactic. "Mama Rae," Marley said.

"Yes, Mama Rae," Santana agreed.

"K-Eh," Marley said again.

"Spell for me baby, I'm not following," she said kindly and Marley spelled carefully. K...U...R...T. "Oh yes, Kurt, I'm sorry, what about Kurt?"

"Ah-pa?" she asked.

"Spell more sweetheart," Santana said gently and Marley nodded. P...A...P...A she spelled rotating the blocks. "Papa? You want to call Kurt, Papa?" she asked her and Marley nodded, although she looked fearful. "I think he would like that. Should we text him to talk about it?" she asked and Marley nodded. "Okay, watch me then," Santana said and she carefully tapped out a message to Kurt. _Marley would like to call you Papa, are you okay with that?_ Is that right sweetheart?" she asked and Marley nodded with a jaw cracking yawn. "Let me send this and then we can get you to rest," Santana grinned.

Santana sat next to Marley and let her rest comfortably. Marley started to fight her body on sleep and Santana pet her hair gently. "Sometimes my love, you're going to have to nap, even when you don't want to. I promise you though, these naps are a good thing. They will help you get stronger and heal faster. Your body needs it," Santana told her and she saw exhaustion and fear in her little girl's eyes and Marley seemed to be regressing very quickly. "Marley my love, look at Mommy," she coached gently. "Mommy isn't going anywhere. I'm going to be here when you wake up and I promise you sweetheart, I will always be your safe place," Santana said and Marley nodded yes before snuggling down into the covers of the bed, she was exhausted now.

* * *

Marley was caught in a dream, but she didn't realize she was in a dream. It was all too real. It also didn't help that her fears of Santana leaving her, abusing her, the looming prospect of moving to a new home, and the past terrible memories of Terri taking care of her, in a manner of speaking, were weighing heavily on her mind. Her body was using sleep to process everything. The pictures in her mind and situations she was seemingly in began changing at a rapid rate. She wanted to move and get away from Terri. She saw the belt coming at her quickly and she tried to duck. She felt Terri pin her legs back so her knees were practically touching her eyes. She heard angry words flowing around her. Most of them sounded like Terri and she saw Santana standing there watching and then she heard her speak. Santana was calling out to her. Santana was calling that she was coming, but she never moved. The belt rose and fell twice more before every nerve ending in her body exploded with pain.

Santana was just returning from her little trip to the vending machines when Marley started to toss and turn, her body protesting the movement and all the pain that went with it. She watched as Marley's head slowly rolled right, and then quickly turned to the left, and very shortly after that, Marley let out a blood curdling scream, waking herself up, her entire body in pain. She'd wet herself in the process and now it felt like her body was on fire.

Santana went to her bedside and Marley let out another scream. The pain and the memories were too much for her, and she was still in her head. Santana watched, mostly in amazement, as Marley regressed before her eyes. Something had terrified her to go to this point and Santana had to tread very carefully. Santana waited until Marley stopped screaming and very gently laid her hands on Marley's thigh. Marley screamed again at the soft touch and Santana frowned. "Shhh, Mommy's here sweetheart," she said gently. "Marley, look at Mommy Santana," she said and inched her hands upward slowly toward Marley's hips and began to talk softly. "Marley, look at Mommy, I know it hurts, I know, I hear it in your voice honey, but you have to look at Mommy. I need you to know where you are," Santana said and as she spoke she moved her hands over Marley's body, until she was holding her hand. "Look at me baby, look at Mommy," she cooed and Marley quickly shut her eyes, keeping them locked tight, and shaking her head no.

Santana sighed. She wanted her to look, to be sure she was in present time and not stuck in her head, but she couldn't force her, so she decided to just talk while she got it all done. "Okay, okay, you don't have to look at me then sweetheart. Here's the deal. I'm going to let go of your hands and get you a new diaper, something to clean you up with and some lotion. It's already been far too long, and I don't want you to be in pain any longer than necessary. Mommy loves you too much," she said and she let go, gathered the items and went back to the bed, taking Marley's hand. Marley jumped and Santana's heart tightened in her chest. "It's just me sweetheart. It's Mommy Santana, and you are very safe, but we have to change you. We have to," she said almost pleadingly and very slowly, Marley's eyes opened.

"Mommy," she said sadly.

"Yes my baby, Mommy's here, and we have to change you. I know it hurts, and I know you're going to cry and scream, and that's okay. I'm not mad at all, and I don't care what anyone says, but do you know that Mommy has to change you?" she asked. Marley nodded and tears poured out of her eyes. "Shhh, I know honey, I know, I'm so sorry that you're in pain baby," she cooed as she carefully. Santana very carefully edged the hospital gown up, untaped the diaper and Marley started to scream. "It's just Mommy sweetheart, you're safe. It's just Mommy," she told her softly, over and over again. The diaper was soaked and before Santana could pull it away any further, Marley began peeing out of fright. "Just Mommy baby, it's just Mommy," Santana said, over and over again, in order to try to keep her calm. She waited till Marley was done and then picked up some of the cleaning cloths. She carefully cleaned her up, being careful not to rub too hard over any of the still raw, and sore flesh. Marley of course screamed, but Santana knew that was coming.

It took several long minutes, but finally Marley was changed and Santana picked up her lotion and started to work it into Marley's hands. "Alright baby, all clean, all done, I promise," she said gently and Marley turned to look at Santana and burst into heavy sobs. "Shhh, I'm sorry honey," Santana said and Marley just cried and tried to wiggle around. "Shhh, don't hurt yourself baby, talk to me, tell Mommy what you want," she encouraged. "Just try," she said.

"Cuh," Marley whimpered.

"Cup?" Santana asked and Marley shook her head crying even harder. She couldn't communicate. She just wanted someone to hold her until all the pain stopped and she didn't know how to say it. "Alright, alright, calm down honey, I'm here," Santana said. She checked the bed and then very carefully stood up and leaned down, almost laying herself on top of Marley. "Shhh, Mommy's here," she said and without too much effort, she was able to shift Marley and herself so that they were both in the bed and she was holding Marley to her. Marley laid her head on Santana's chest and did her best to calm down. "There's my baby girl, there you are. I love you so much Marley, you're completely safe with me, you know that don't you?" she asked her gently.

"Mama," Marley whimpered.

"Mama Rae isn't here sweetheart, she'll be here later today and so will Papa," Santana said.

"Mommy," she whimpered.

"Yes baby, Mommy's here, you're safe, and we're going to lay here together. You and Mommy, sweetheart. We're going to lay here together and stay cuddled up close, until you're calm," she told her. An hour later, Kurt and Rachel were walking into the room and Santana smiled at them.

"She missed you, but if you wake her up, I'll kill both of you," she said protectively.

"I don't know if I like you as a Mama Bear, unless we're your cubs," Kurt said simply.

* * *

**Hi everyone. I hope that you are all doing well and I'm glad you are enjoying the story that I somehow managed to create. This chapter is MUCH shorter than my last ones, but it needed to be. As I was writing it, I felt that all the characters needed a break. **

**To all my reviewers thank you SO MUCH! The reviews are so heart warming and make me feel so good.**

**To my followers, thank you. I'm always glad to see that a new person has joined my following. Please also feel free to add a review. You may end up sparking something and I promise that anyone who gives me additional inspiration will get credit!**

**I appreciate all the support that I'm getting. Still massive major props to Nayafan, UnholyUnderBoob, & Beaner008. Without their works, this would not have been inspired. **

**I haven't said this yet, but I think it goes without saying. I don't own any of the characters that you recognize. The ones that you don't recognize, I just made them up. If they inspire you in some way, then feel free to borrow them, just please give me credit! :)**

**I wish you all the best and if I will update again next Sunday!**


	5. Chapter 5

**To all my readers. Thank you greatly for your patience! My computer was in the shop being fixed, and I had a great deal of emotional crap to deal with this week. Now that it's been done with and my computer is fixed and my bathroom is clean and my taxes are paid, life and story posting can get back to a semi normal schedule. Thank you all for sticking with me! I greatly hope you enjoy the story still. Reviews, questions, comments, concerned. Feel free to post or PM me. I will post chapter 6 on Sunday as regularly scheduled. **

**And as always, MEGA thanks to NayaFan, UnholyUnderBoob, & Beaner008 for all their inspirations and support. Be well my friends!**

* * *

Finally Marley was to be released from the hospital and Santana, Kurt, and Rachel all showed up to help with the process. Marley was a basket case from the moment they arrived. She hadn't slept very well, even though Santana had stayed with her for hours. She sang her two lullabies, read her three stories, and made sure she was "fed, watered, and cleaned up" before she fell to sleep. It hadn't mattered though. This was going to be a new chapter in Marley's life and even though the people were ones she knew, the environment wasn't.

She laid in bed, and when her "committee" arrived to help her home, she just about lost her mind. They were too nice, too concerned, too gentle and it scared her. Rachel and Kurt pushed Santana forward. "You talk to her, we'll pack," Rachel said. They didn't have a lot to pack, but Marley did have a few things that needed to go with them. Joe had left her some things from therapy to take with her and Rachel made sure to get copies of all the notes that had been made by the nursing staff. Santana was probably over prepared at this point, but she figured better safe than sorry.

"Okay Marley, look at me," Santana said and she waited very patiently for Marley to focus in on her. Marley's breathing was ragged and Santana saw her going into a panic attack. "Breathe sweetheart, just with me," she said taking her hands and holding them tightly. "Look at Mommy and just breathe baby girl, you're okay. Nothing bad is going to happen and nothing it going to happen at all until you tell us you're ready. I'm not even going to pretend I know how scared you might be," she told her.

"Santana, we're ready when you are," Kurt said kindly.

"Cab?" she asked.

"Waiting on us," he said and Marley looked to him immediately with wide eyes.

_"Cab's waiting Terri, let's go!" a male voice called and Marley felt herself being moved into someone's arms, being carried away and she started to cry. The man holding her gave her five hard blows to her bottom and she set to screaming._

_"Ugh, the racket! Here give her this, it locks behind," Terri said and she handed him a pacifier with a string on it. The string had a clip on the back, that once fastened into place, would lock it into place. He pushed it into place and while the screaming stopped, the crying didn't. The sour taste from the vinegar got to her and she started to gag slightly._

_"Let's go, we'll be at the cabin in a few hours," he said and Marley heard Terri giggle that excited little girl giggle, that she herself once used to have. _

_"I can't wait to start our new life. Just Mommy, Daddy, and Baby," Terri cooed. "Won't that be great sweet cheeks?" Terri asked pinching Marley's cheeks so hard that fresh tears came to her eyes. "We're going to be a happy family and you can yell and scream all you want, because no one will hear you and no one will care," Terri said in a terribly sickening voice. _

"Why is she staring at me?" Kurt asked kindly, keeping his eyes on Marley. Something was very wrong and they both knew it. Santana shrugged and moved in closer, singing softly to Marley. She was doing everything she could to try and pull Marley out of her memories, but it wasn't working, so Kurt gave it a try. "Marley, do you see me?" Kurt asked her. She gave a little gulp and looked at him, nodding slowly, her eyes seeming to get wider. "Do you know my name?" he asked her. He had learned. Santana had drilled it into them. Marley was never forced. Marley had to be talked to. It had to be clear that Marley was with them and not living off in her head somewhere. Marley didn't answer and Kurt let out a small sigh and took a few steps closer. "It's just me Marley, it's just Papa, do you know that?" he asked her as he got closer and she let out a little yelp, making him freeze in his spot. "Okay, I'll stop. Papa will stay right here, until you tell me you're ready," he said and Santana nodded her approval. "I'm right here Marley. It's just you, me, Papa Kurt, and Mommy, Mommy Santana. I will stay right here until you know that it's Marley, Papa, and Mommy," he told her.

Marley let the seconds pass by and then she turned to Santana. "Mommy," she whimpered and Santana watched in slight fear as Marley fell into her, sobbing hysterically. Santana gathered her close and rocked her gently.

"Shhh, Mommy's here, you're alright my love," she cooed softly and she swayed carefully from side to side before gently lifting Marley into her arms, sitting her on her lap, and guiding her head to her shoulder. "Shhh, Mommy's here," Santana said gently while petting Marley's hair, in long soothing strokes.

Kurt stood frozen to his spot. Marley couldn't see him, but he didn't want to risk anything to cause her more upset. "Okay, what did I say, so I don't say it again?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know, we'll figure it out. Can you give us a few minutes? Help Rachel keep the cab here," she said and Kurt nodded, leaving the room, and ignoring the direct order. This time it didn't bother him, Marley was more important to him, than Santana forgetting her role as friend over Mistress.

Santana waited and finally Marley calmed down. "Marley baby, it's just Mommy, and we're going to the house that I told you about. Mommy, Mama Rae, and Papa all live in the same house. Should we look at pictures and videos again? Will that help you a little more?" she offered, feeling Marley tremble against her.

Marley gulped a few times and Santana reached for some water. "Just water baby, take small sips for me," Santana said helping her. Five minutes later Marley was a little calmer, and Santana spoke kindly. "You've been released love, but we only leave when you're ready. If that takes all day, then that's fine with me. You won't be rushed. We're taking a cab to the house, because we don't want to overwhelm you with all the people on the subway," she told her and Marley nodded, holding tighter to Santana. "I have to wheel you out of here in a wheel chair and as soon as you tell me it's okay, I will press the call button and a nurse will bring us one. Then you, Mommy, Mama Rae, and Papa will all go back to the house together," Santana explained. With heavy tears and a terrified look on her face, Marley reached for the call button herself. She would never be ready, she was always going to be scared, but she couldn't keep these people waiting all day.

* * *

The cab ride had been very tense. Keeping Marley calm was proving to be very difficult, until finally Santana could take no more. "Just like in the hospital baby, come here," she said and she pulled her onto her lap so they were chest to chest. Marley knew this, it was a familiar position, so she went to put her head on Santana's shoulder but was stopped. "Other side baby, I want you to see Mama Rae if you need to," she whispered to her. Marley had no objections. Santana rubbed her back and Rachel leaned in close, putting her forehead to Marley's

"Mommy has you baby. You're very safe with us, and I bet you are probably very scared, which is fine with us. You take your time with whatever you need to. Mommy taught you how to communicate and what we don't know right away we'll figure it out. You're an amazing girl Marley," Rachel told her gently.

Marley blinked a few times and then closed her eyes and Santana felt her grow heavy. She peaked around at Rachel and smiled. "Thank you," Santana told her.

* * *

It had taken thirty minutes to go from the ground floor to the apartment. Marley was in tears and whimpering in true pain as she entered the apartment, also covered in a fine sheen of sweat. "I know princess, I am so sorry," Santana soothed and she carefully guided her with Rachel's help to the apartment. Marley sort of slunk to the floor and Santana helped her, letting her sit so she could catch her breath. She hadn't worked that hard in therapy.

Kurt took a shopping bag full of items into Santana's room and set them up carefully. Supplies to help change Marley when she needed it, as well as the teddy bear Santana had bought her, all those weeks before, and the few items Joe had given her as well. The wooden blocks, he put in a small box and carried it back into the main room. Those blocks were Marley's communication system when she couldn't say the words she wanted to. Right now though, the poor girl was exhausted and in need of a bath.

"Marley baby?" Santana said kneeling down in front of her. "What do you say to a bath and some food?" she asked her. Marley didn't answer, she just whimpered and tried to breathe through what felt like an on coming muscle cramp. "Shall we try sweetheart? Mama Rae can help us. We'll go into the bathroom, have a nice warm bath, and then get you a banana. It's a good source for potassium and we know that helps your muscles recover faster right?" she asked and Marley nodded, but fresh tears spilled down her face. She was just so tired and this was going to be a never ending fight.

The two of them struggled slightly to get her into the bath, but once it was all said and done, Marley and Santana were left alone in the bathroom and Marley seemed to be enjoying the water. Santana had left her in her bra, to spare her some modesty. She'd changed her diapers, but that was a necessity. If she could have found a way to change her without Marley being so exposed, then she would have done it. She figured the least she could do now was let Marley keep her chest covered. "Marley my love, I am so proud of you. You climbed three flights of stairs and made it into the house. That's a major accomplishment. So not only am I proud of you, but you should be proud of you too," Santana said.

Marley looked up at Santana and smiled. "Mommy?" she asked.

"Yes baby?" Marley put her hand in the water, pulled up a palm full of it and then let it pour out of her hands. "Are you making waterfalls?" Santana smiled. Marley liked the smile on Santana's face. It was one of happiness and love. It was safe. Marley returned the smile and then repeated the motion, trying to say the word. "Ah-fah," she said slowly and Santana smiled again. "You can make as many waterfalls as you like baby girl, as long as you keep the water in the tub okay?" she asked and Marley nodded. She put her hand back in the water and then tried to lift it to the top of her head, but all the water was gone before she could get it there. Whatever part of her was in the water felt cleaner, but her chest, face, and hair, still felt disgusting to her.

"Look up there love," Santana smiled once she realized what Marley had wanted. Marley looked up and saw the shower head. "Do you know what that is?" she asked and Marley nodded, immediately looking afraid. "None of that baby. This is a safe house, remember? We talk about everything before we go through with it," Santana said and she waited for Marley to look at her again. "So I was thinking, maybe we pull that down and get it nice and warm and rinse you off that way. Papa has a friend who helped us install a special tank. We don't run out of hot water too often," she smiled. The friend was Burt, but she though that talking about more people would just push Marley over the edge, and right now, her goal was to keep her calm.

Marley thought for many long moments, and finally looked at Santana. "Mommy," she said softly and then looked up at the shower head. Santana smiled pulled it down and put it in Marley's hand.

"I want you to hold it, so you know what it is," Santana said and Marley did as asked.  
"Now, I have to tell you that it's going to be cold at first, but you're going to hold it over the drain and then once it's warm, we'll use it to wash you," Santana said.

"Me?" Marley asked.

"Did you want to wash Mommy instead?" Santana asked her kindly and Marley smiled and shook her head no. "Oh my goodness, I think I saw a smile," Santana teased and then gave Marley a kiss to her forehead. "I hope I get to see more of those," she said.

"Me?" Marley asked again.

"I'm trying love, give me a minute. Try something else to help me, help you," she said. Marley thought for a moment and then made the waterfall with her hand. "Yes, we have to make a big waterfall for Marley so she can get clean," Santana said kindly. Marley took the shower head in her hand and moved it away from Santana, almost hugging it. "Do you want to wash yourself?" Santana asked and Marley shrugged. "Do you want Mommy to wash you?" she asked and Marley shrugged again. She honestly didn't know. "Alright, let's try something else," Santana said. "We can do it together. When you are ready, you pull the plug. We'll let this water drain out and together, we will wash your body. I'll help with what you struggle with. If you want me to do it for you, you give me the soap, but I'm more than willing to let you do what you can on your own," Santana explained.

Marley thought for a moment and then pushed the shower head to Santana. Climbing the stairs had been a lot and she was starting to get tired and ache. "I want you to be very sure Marley. Mommy will take care of you, I always will, but you have to be the one to make that choice. Too many people took things away from you, when you weren't ready for it, and I won't do that to you," she said.

"Mommy," Marley said nodding and giving Santana the shower head. She reached down to her chest, undid the clip, removed her bra and leaned forward. Santana smiled and felt happy tears sting her eyes. That was huge for Marley. To show so much trust in Santana so quickly, was a gigantic step for her.

"I am very proud of you my sweet girl," Santana said and she set to washing Marley off.

* * *

After the bath was over, Santana called for Rachel to come in and help with pajamas. Basic sweats and tank tops made up pretty much most of Marley's wardrobe. They got Marley dressed, dried her hair and then carefully helped her back into the other room. "Okay princess, you sit here with Mommy today and I will be back later tonight. I have a tech rehearsal to get to," she told her and Marley gave a tearful nod. Rachel gave her a kiss and went to the front door. "I'm on dinner tonight, soup and grilled cheese good for everyone?" she called out.

"I'm on dinner Rach, I'll take care of it!" Kurt yelled to her from the bedroom and Marley just sat with Santana not caring what was going on around her. She was too tired. Kurt returned with Marley's teddy bear and handed it to her and she curled up into Santana and tried to go to sleep. She was exhausted. None of the positions she tired had felt comfortable though and she started to wiggle and squirm trying to get comfy, only making herself angry and frustrated in the process.

"What's wrong?" Santana asked. Anyone could see how tired she was. "My baby girl, I'm so proud of you, let's stretch out though okay?" she asked and Marley whined. "Come on sweetheart, just stretch out, help your muscles relax, and after you take a little rest with me, we'll have a banana together okay?" she asked. Marley whined and fussed and Santana held up her hands in defeat and let Marley be. "Alright then, you get yourself comfortable, and let me know when you're ready," she said. Marley continued to whine and wiggle in frustration. She knew what she wanted, she just couldn't communicate it.

Kurt didn't like the whining, he just wanted to be able to help her. He walked over behind the couch, selected two DVDs and then moved in front of Marley. "Hey sweetheart, look. Papa has two movies, would you like to watch one?" he offered her and she looked at him with tears in her eyes. "You don't have to watch any if you don't want to baby," he told her kindly.

"I think that's a good idea. I would love to watch a movie with my baby," Santana said kindly and Marley gave her a curious look before going back to the DVD's. She needed something to focus on, she knew that. Her focus right now was too much on how brand new and different everything was, as well as how she couldn't communicate properly and it was giving her too much anxiety.

Eventually, she curled up on her side and put her head in Santana's lap. Santana combed her fingers through Marley's hair as the opening credits rolled across the screen. Marley stayed stone still, getting used to the fact that it was Santana with her and not Terri. She was doing great, until her tummy rumbled and her leg started to shake. Santana pulled Marley into her lap, held her tight and stood up. "I gotcha baby," she said when Marley started to cry. "I know, I know it's scary, but Mommy won't let go, I promise, try to put your feet straight down," she encouraged. The best way to get the muscle cramps out were to get Marley to stand, but since she could barely support her own weight, Santana had to hold her.

Kurt moved quickly over to them and Marley cried harder. Her stomach had rumbled and her body released whatever it was holding on to. "Shhh," Kurt said gently giving her kisses. "As soon as it's over, we'll get you all cleaned up sweetheart," he promised as he worked her right leg to a more straightened position and Santana kept a tight grip.

"Mommy," she whimpered.

"I'm right here baby," she assured her.

"Ow," she cried.

"I know sweetheart, I know, Mommy's here, you're safe with me. I won't let go baby girl. I'm right here," Santana said gently.

The shaking finally stopped and Kurt looked up at Santana. "Done," he told her and Santana nodded. "Come on Marley, should Mommy and Papa get you to the bathroom?" he asked her.

"Ow," she said sadly.

"I know sweetheart, I'm so sorry," Kurt said kindly.

He and Santana guided her to the bathroom and then Santana moved to her side. "Listen Baby, I know you need to be changed, but Mama Rae left and because you are still gaining strength, Papa has to help me," she told her. Marley shook her head no and began crying even harder. "I know baby, I know, I'm sorry, but it's Papa, it's not that mean man. You know Papa, look at him sweetheart. Look right at him and when you're ready you tell me." Santana held her up and Marley leaned against her, crying, she would never be ready for this. It was too stressful. She closed her eyes and just cried.

"I don't want her to stay in that too much longer," Kurt said kindly.

Santana gave a sad smile. She appreciated how much Kurt and Rachel tried. They didn't know much about her Mistress life and what it was to be in control of someone, but she knew that they were making a great effort when it came to Marley and they kept a very open mind about things. "I know but I don't want her to be pushed too fast."

"Marley, look at Papa honey," Kurt said after quickly rolling his eyes. Santana made sense, but having Marley stay in a dirty diaper for more than ten seconds was just too much for him. She didn't deserve that. "Look baby, look at me. Papa Kurt would never, ever, hurt his little Marley. She is too special and too precious to ever be hurt by someone who loves her," he told her. She hiccuped and gulped, struggling for air. He pet her face gently and breathed with her, trying to get her to fall into a rhythm, much like he'd seen Santana do for her. "Listen baby, Mommy and Papa are going to just pull down your pants and I'm going to hold you while Mommy undoes your diaper, that's all baby, I won't look, I won't do anything but hold my sweet baby girl, because she is too precious to hurt," he said.

"Mommy," Marley whimpered.

"Yes baby, I'm here and I think what Papa is suggesting is a very good idea," she told her. "As soon as we get your messy clothes off, you can sit down and Mommy will clean you up and then we can go cuddle on the couch and eat," Santana said gently, giving Marley sweet kisses to her temple.

Marley was terrified, it was all too much embarrassment in a new place, and lots of work to get herself to a new level of healed. It was too daunting of a task for her. "Shhh, easy baby girl, small steps remember?" Santana asked gently. "Come on, just lean on Mommy, I've got you sweetheart," she assured her. Marley put all her weight, which wasn't much, into Santana and Kurt lowered her sweat pants. "Alright sweetheart, that's all done, lean into Papa, Mommy will do the rest of the work. As soon as you're seated, Papa will leave and Mommy will get you all cleaned up, okay?" Santana cooed gently.

Santana undid the diaper and the smell was very powerful. Santana used every ounce of will power she had not to say anything about it. Kurt was doing his best as well, but Marley screamed in pain and embarrassment as more flowed out of her. "Oh," Santana said quickly. She moved fast, they had Marley sit gently on the toilet and Santana looked at Kurt. "Teddy Bear is in the bag in my room and figure out something for her that's got all that BRAT stuff in it," she said.

He didn't even care that she'd ordered him, instead of asked him. He left the room and returned quickly with Teddy Bear, a small note book that he'd taken notes in for recipe ideas for Marley that he got from the nutritionist on staff, and a small stool for Santana to sit on. "Thought you might need this too," he told her and left to cook for Marley.

Santana sat herself on the stool in front of Marley and coached her breathing while her bowels emptied themselves into the toilet bowl and Marley continued to scream and cry. "Shhh, just breathe my lovely, you can do it, keep breathing," she said and Marley's face contorted in pain. "You're okay love, you are, just breathe, it's almost over," she assured her and then looked down at her watch. "Look sweetheart. See? It's nearly time for Mama Rae to come home, and then you and Mommy, and Mama, and Papa, and even Teddy Bear if you like, can all eat dinner together. First we have to get you cleaned up and I think a bath will help. Can we try?" she asked.

"Mommy," she whimpered.

"I'm right here, baby, try, it's okay," Santana encouraged.

"Bah," she said.

"Yes sweetheart, bath," Santana smiled.

"Ow," she said.

"Yes baby, I'm not going to lie. It might hurt, but only for a little bit, and then it will feel good, and Mommy will never put you straight into a bath, without making you clean first. That's not safe," Santana said and Marley whimpered again. Santana could see her trying to formulate more words, so she waited for a bit and then looked at her. "You can tell me whatever you want sweetheart. Whatever you say, I will try to understand and if I don't, I will have Papa get your blocks, okay?" she asked her and Marley nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Santana reached up and gently wiped them away with her thumbs. Marley hiccuped and looked at Santana "B," she said softly. Santana nodded and Marley tried to continue. "Rrrrr," she said and Satana smiled waiting for more. "A," she said and then she got quiet.

"Any more letters lovely?" she asked. Marley nodded, but couldn't say it. T was the last letter, but to press her tongue up to her teeth was still very painful. Her tongue wasn't healing as fast as the doctors had wanted. "How many more letter baby?" she asked and Marley held up one finger and Santana smiled. "Alright, you stop me when I say it," Santana said and she very slowly sang the alphabet. Marley squinched her eyes shut and whimpered as her bowels emptied again and Santana paused. After it passed she nodded at Santana. When Santana finally go to the letter T, she stopped and smiled. "Alright. my letters are B, R, A, T. Brat?" she asked in confusion and Marley nodded.

"Who's a brat baby?" she asked and Marley shook her head no. "No, no one's a brat. Did someone call you a brat?" she asked and Marley nodded yes, tears quickly flowing. "Who would call my sweet baby girl a brat?" she asked with confusion.

"Mommy," she cried and Santana didn't seem to understand. Marley was trying to communicate, and was obviously scared, but there was another part of her that clearly understood Santana was safe.

Finally recognition crossed over her face and she hung her head. "Oh baby, I'm so sorry, come here," she said and she pulled herself closer to give Marley some tender kisses. She put her hands gently on Marley's cheeks and Marley winced. "Open hands my love, I just want to be sure you feel me and look at me," Santana said continuing to move slowly. "And the answer is no baby, absolutely not. You are not a brat. You are my sweet baby girl Marley and Marley has to eat the BRAT diet to make her tummy better," she said and Marley shook her head no and looked very confused.

"Let's get you cleaned up, dressed, and then back out to Papa, and then you can learn what the BRAT diet is," Santana told her lovingly. "And one more thing. Marley, that was so brave of you to ask your questions. You are a very brave girl and I am so proud of you," she said.

* * *

"I have to yell sweetheart," she told Marley. "I'm not yelling at you, just out to Papa," she explained and waiting for Marley to acknowledge what was about to happen. "KURT!" Santana yelled through the door, keeping her hands over Marley's ears to keep her calm and relaxed.

Marley was seated on the floor in Santana's lap, having her hair combed and braided so that it stayed out of her face.

Kurt walked in and smiled. Marley looked absolutely adorable. "There's my baby girl. You got changed into new jammies," he smiled. She nodded and reached out to him carefully. "Mommy needs help doesn't she?" he asked with a smile and Marley returned the smile. "Well I think I can help out my sweet girl, and Mama Rae just came home, so she can help too," he said and Marely smiled happily. "There's that pretty smile," he praised and moved in to help her stand up. He sat on the stool for leverage and had Santana guide Marley into his arms. Once she was set, he rubbed her back and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Oh that's not fair," he smiled at Santana.

"I think you found Papa's weak spot baby girl," Santana grinned. Santana carefully stood up and then moved over to Kurt. "Ready big girl? Time to stand up, but I have you close, you're not going to fall," she explained and helped her to stand, using the sink to brace herself and Marley's weight. "Yaaay," Santana cheered softly for her and Marley gave a tired smile. "Alright princess, go with Papa and I'll be right out," Santana said.

"Mommy?"

"Mommy's just going to take a quick shower, I'll be right out I promise," Santana said giving her a gentle kiss. "In fact when you go out to the kitchen, Papa and Mama Rae can explain what the BRAT diet is to you. You my sweet girl are most definitely not a brat," Santana said.

Kurt helped Marley move slowly to the kitchen and had her sit in the chair nearest the wall. Rachel slid in quickly on her left side and smiled. "Hey cutie," she said kissing her cheek.

"Mama Rae," Marley smiled.

"Yes, Mama Rae, I came home, I told you I would," Rachel smiled and gave Marley a hug. "Mama Rae is going to sit here so you don't fall over. Mommy would be very angry if Papa and I let you fall."

"Eff," Marley said.

"Yes, our big girl leans a little bit to the left when she sits up straight, but she's the best big girl we know and she's very smart and sweet," Rachel said giving a wink.

Kurt smiled and took a seat on her other side. "Mommy said I had to explain something to you," he said. "BRAT diet stands for something baby. B for banana, R for rice, A for applesauce and T for toast, so Papa made dinner, which you can eat, but before you do, will you let Mama Rae feed you some banana?" he asked her.

"He'p," Marley said.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Mama Rae will help you. You can do as much by yourself as you want, we will never stop you from doing that," Kurt assured her.

"Let's try sweetheart," Rachel said gently. "Will you eat with Mama Rae?" Rachel asked her. "Come on, let's get Marley a banana. I bet it'll help with all those muscle cramps," she coached and handed the banana to Marley.

"Mama," Marley said softly. "He'p," she said.

"Help? I can help you honey. Here, I'll peel it for you okay?" she asked. "Put your hands on me, we'll do it together," Rachel said and Marley looked at her with very tired eyes. "Oh baby," she sighed and she scooted even closer. She wrapped one arm around Marley's shoulder. "Rest against me honey, and just take bites whenever you're ready," Rachel told her, petting her hair and letting Marley rest against her.

Santana stepped out of the bathroom a while later and smiled. Marley was slumped in an awkward position, but she didn't seem to be in pain. She was now shorter than Rachel, and Rachel had to turn and tuck her head in order to guide that banana to Marley's mouth, concerned that she'd make a mess on the poor girl. Santana watched for two more bites, before shaking her head and speaking up. "You're supposed to feed her, not put her to sleep," she said noticing how heavy Marley's eyes were.

"She ate half," Rachel defended.

"I'll take it," Santana smiled.

"Mah-my," Marley yawned.

"Hey baby girl," Santana said and she walked over and knelt in front of her. "Is my big girl ready for bed?" she asked her and Marley gave a tired smile. "You ate half your banana I'm very proud of you baby. If you get hungry later you let me know okay?" she said and Marley gave a tiny nod and a loud yawn. "How about we get Marley to bed, to rest, she looks very very tired," Santana said kindly and Rachel smiled at how maternal Santana actually was. She seemed to always know when it was appropriate to treat Marley like a traumatized teenager and a toddler who was learning things for the first time.

"Beh," Marley said.

"Yes baby, Mommy will take you to bed," Santana said and she carefully helped her to stand, wrapping her arms tight around Marley's waist and then carefully using her feet to move Marley's and shuffle her across the room and into Santana's bedroom.

She got her into the bedroom and had her lay down on the bed. "Sleep baby girl," she said gently as she pet her hair and then she got up to leave. Marley tried to sit up and grab Santana but she lurched in such a way, her body contorted in pain and she screamed. Kurt and Rachel went running. "What?" Santana asked quickly and helped her to lie back down. "Shhh, shhh, what's wrong love?" she asked and Marley hung on tightly to Santana trembling and crying. She didn't want Santana to leave her alone, but her open mouth wails prevented her from communicating that.

"Spasm?" Rachel asked from the doorway and Santana shook her head.

"Mommy, mommy, mommy," Marley cried holding tight to Santana and shaking.

"Shhh, Mommy's here, let's sleep baby, I know you're tired. It's okay, Mommy's here," she assured her. "Is it sleepy time for Marley?" she asked her kindly. She hated slipping into baby talk, but sometimes, that was the only way she could reach through the haze in Marley's brain. Terri had brain washed her and only spoke in baby talk, so ssometimes, she had to do the same. To Santana's surprise, Marley cried, held on tight, and nodded weakly. "You know what? We don't have Teddy Bear do we? Let's ask Papa or Mama Rae to get Teddy Bear for us," she said kindly.

"I'll be right back," Rachel smiled and she left the room.

"Rest up baby girl, we'll see you when you wake up," Kurt said kissing her forehead and leaving the room.

Rachel returned with Teddy Bear. and took a seat next to Santana since Marley was now seated in her lap, much like they had been in the cab ride. "Can Mama Rae see your tongue?" she asked gently bumping her forehead onto Marley's as she rested on Santana, knowing she was in safe arms. She carefully opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue. Rachel saw all the sores and blisters, but kept her face neutral and gave a kind smile. "I can do that too," Rachel giggled sticking her tongue back out at Marley who only smiled. "I think you look beautiful Marley and pretty soon, your tongue will be all healed," she told her.

Marley whimpered and Santana sighed. She looked at Rachel and frowned. "Keep her for a second, I have to move," she said. Rachel slipped in and Santana scooted back.

"Mommy!" Marley screamed.

"Shhh, she's right there honey, hold on one moment," Rachel cooed softly, but was no use. Marley was beyond exhausted. She had entered full baby mode now. Santana was her Mommy and as baby Marley, she needed her mommy, and continued to just wail and cry hysterically. Santana laid down on her side and then pulled Marley in with her, so they were spooning on the bed. Marley gasped and hiccuped, her body still getting used to all the new feelings she was experiencing, as Santana held her.

"I'm right here baby. Mommy's here, you're safe. This is just like the hospital. We lay here together to rest. Just rest my love, you're okay," Santana soothed and began to sing softly to keep Marley calm. Singing was a great tool for them to be using. It didn't always work, but when it did, it was a God send. Rachel had let them be for twenty minutes before going back into the bedroom to check on them.

Santana quickly put her finger to her lips and Rachel nodded. She got on the bed, lying in front of Marley and smiled when she saw the teddy bear tucked tight in Marley's arms. Marley fussed slightly, as a dream started to take over her sleep, but both Rachel and Santana hushed her until she relaxed.

"Go on, I can wait a little bit more, before I come join you guys for dinner," Santana said.

"What about her?" Rachel asked propping herself up on her elbow so she and Santana were in much the same position.

"She's nearly asleep," Santana said.

"What was with the screaming a little bit ago?" Rachel asked kindly.

"I don't know, she may just have wanted Mommy," Santana said simply, but Rachel could see her jaw struggling to stay still.

"Don't try to hide your smile," Rachel scolded. "You love that she calls you that, and you love being that for her. You love the control that comes with it, but you respect it to a point that she has never understood. Plus I like seeing you smile," Rachel grinned and kissed Santana's forehead. "I will leave the Mommy with her baby," she said and left the room so Santana could get Marley to sleep, fully this time, and then she would join her room mates for dinner.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello my dear readers...Here it is, Chapter 6. I am going to be putting the warning out on all chapters from now on, as to what the topic of discussion will be, because I don't want anyone too surprised by something. So for this chapter, the issues, are Marley's healing body and trust issues! For the healing body, expect MINOR discussion of bodily functions. For trust issues, expect a cliffhanger, and know that next chapter is going to be even heavier than this one!**

**As always many many thanks to my readers, I love the reviews and PM's that I'm getting and I'm really glad you are all enjoying the story so much. **

**Lastly, many thanks to NayaFan, UnholyUnderBoob, & Beaner008 for their inspirations. I promise you, iv you have not checked out their stories, you SHOULD! They are incredible! Chapter 7 will be up next week.**

* * *

The next morning Santana woke up early and took her phone with her into the kitchen while she worked out a breakfast. Her phone rang moments later. "Hello?" she asked as kindly as she could grimacing when she saw the name on the caller ID.

"Yes, is Santana there?" April asked.

"This is she."

"This is April, Marley's speech therapist," she said.

"I'm aware," Santana said with a bit of a bite.

"You can knock off the attitude Santana because despite your very strong opinion, my job is to help Marley and after a lot of research, I think I've figured out how to help her move along, but I need your help to do it."

Santana sighed and moved around the kitchen to look into the bedroom, to keep an eye on Marley. "Okay, you have my attention," she said.

"After weeks of research, it has come to my attention, that a pacifier may actually be the key to getting her to heal."

"Terri soaked them in vinegar, she's afraid of them now," Santana said and she watched Marley wiggle around a bit and whimper softly. "Hold on please," she said. Santana peaked around the corner and saw Marley starting to get more and more restless and the seconds went by. Rachel was already awake and in the kitchen trying to make something more for them than Santana had come up with. There was a reason that Santana was relieved of breakfast duty. "Rae, go check on her please?" she asked and Rachel nodded and left. "Continue please," she said going back to April. She was trying very hard to ignore the cries of her baby.

"Santana you get her to do amazingly progressive things. Things that Joe and I can't get her to do. She trusts you. I'm going to give you all the tools you need and then let you take it from there. I know it sounds counterintuitive at best, but if she keeps the pacifier, she won't dry out her mouth. It won't be coated in anything either. She'll be using her own saliva to keep the soft tissues lubricated, and she's had enough juice go into her that the sores on her cheeks are healing. I know it sounds wrong, but she needs this, and I'm going to give you all the medical and dental scientific studies to prove it to you. Your job is to get her sucking on a pacifier, hopefully at night as well as whenever she wants, by the end of the week," April said.

"My email is," she started and a loud scream cut through the air and the phone.

"Go. I will get it from the hospital staff," April said and she hung up.

Santana went toward the bedroom, to find Marley curled into Rachel and wailing. "Hey, hey, hey," Rachel said kindly. "Marley, it's me, it's Rachel honey, it's just Mama Rae, you're okay," Rachel tried and Santana wanted to rush to her little girl's side, but something in Rachel's voice, made her wait. Marley was gripping tightly to Rachel's body, trembling, and still stuck in whatever nightmare she was having. "Marley, look baby, look at me, you're okay, it's just Mama Rae," Rachel said again and Marley crumbled in defeat and continued wailing. "You're Mommy is going to think I'm beating you," Rachel said adjusting her slightly. She rocked her gently and hummed some nonsense song, waiting for her to calm down.

Marley rested her head on Rachel's shoulder and Santana smiled. Rachel had it under control, so Santana used the moment to sneak away to check her email. True to her word, April sent over several links for why pacifiers were good for babies, curing dry mouth, and how adults still used them to keep calm when they were under highly stressful situations. The next part of the email explained that Marley would need a Nuk5. _ "Google that and you should get several hits. She's your little girl, you know her best, and I know what I'm doing with my patient. If you have any questions call or email _

_April"_

Santana took a deep breath and looked over at the bedroom where Rachel was still singing to Marley. She smiled and went over to the bedroom and move to sit next to her. "There's my baby girl," she said happily and Marley tried to crawl into Santana's lap but she let out a cry of pain, because going over to Santana required a lot of movement. Santana very gently pulled her close and rubbed her back. "Where's Teddy Bear?" she asked her and Rachel smiled and picked it up, giving it to her. "There's Teddy Bear, say thank you Mama Rae?" she coached.

"Mama," Marley said softly.

"Anything for our little girl," Rachel said and kissed her forehead. Marley's belly gurgled and Santana gave her a kiss.

"I think someone's hungry," she said kindly. "Should we have applesauce on toast?" she asked and Marley whimpered. She didn't want to do anything today. She wanted Santana to hold her forever and be the baby girl that they kept calling her. She held tight to Santana not wanting to let go and Santana sighed. She nudged Rachel's foot and smiled. "Help please?' she asked.

Rachel nodded and stood up. She opened her arms and Santana guided Marley into them.

"Mommy," Marley cried, panicking when Santana 'pushed' her away.

"I'm here love, you're okay. we just have to move you to the other room and I need Mama Rae to help me," she assured her standing up.

"Mommy," Marley cried again. Santana moved close to her and Marley hung on tightly, needing to have Santana hold her.

"Shhh, I'm right here baby, you're okay, Mommy's got you," she told her gently and Rachel frowned. According to all of Santana's descriptions, Marley hadn't been this clingy before and she was concerned that something was very wrong. "Look at Mommy baby," she said kindly and she waited for Marley to look at her. "Time for breakfast sweetheart," she told her and Marley nodded and went back to resting her head on Santana's shoulder. She didn't want to leave her arms at all, which was going to be problematic throughout the day.

Santana was working on staying calm, and Rachel moved to the kitchen to fix breakfast. She made a slice of toast and looked at Santana. "Applesauce?" she asked. Santana picked up Teddy Bear and carefully moved herself and Marley to the kitchen.

"Yes please," she said and she sat down, only to have Marley fuss and squirm until she got comfortable and then went back to resting her head on Santana's shoulder. "What happened to my lovely girl?" she asked gently and Marley let out a soft whimper.

"Mommy," Marley cried softly.

"Shhh, Mommy's here, you're okay, let's eat breakfast baby. Look, Mama Rae fixed you toast with applesauce and we'll go nice and slow," she told her lovingly as she pet her hair and Marley looked scared. She tried to make herself very small in Santana's arms and let out a soft noise of complaint. "Little baby bites my love," Santana told her and she kept her close while Rachel ripped up the toast.

"Here you go sweetheart," Rachel said gently and she offered Marley a bite which Marley accepted. She was very hungry, and Santana promised the toast would help heal her tummy, but there were two things that were more important at the moment. Marley just wanted to have Mommy hold her all day, and she didn't want to do anything grown up. She'd had too hard a night, too many terrible dreams, and she woke up to Rachel. She loved Rachel, very much, but Rachel wasn't Santana.

"Mama," Marley whimpered.

"Yes baby, you eat for Mommy and Mama Rae, and then maybe later we look for some accessories for my baby girl," Santana said holding Marley while she ate. She ate one third of her toast, before whimpering and turning away pushing her face into Santana's shoulder.

"No more?" Rachel asked kindly and Marley started to cry.

"Shhh, no need to cry baby, you're okay, you did very well, I'm very proud of you," Santana said and she held her close and looked at Rachel. "Can you get me a bagel and cream cheese?" she asked and Marley went rigid. "Shhh, rest baby, you're okay," Santana assured her and she fished around for Teddy Bear. "Here sweetheart, have this, you're okay, Mommy's here," she said and Marley stayed as still and stiff as possible.

Rachel fixed two bagels for them and sat down. "So what are your plans for today?" she asked Santana kindly.

"I have to go through some emails," she said and shot Rachel a very stern look, one that was well practiced in high school, before she put it to good use at her job. Rachel rolled her eyes and picked up Santana's phone and looked at the email on the screen. She read it over several times and looked at Santana questioningly.

"Anything else?" Rachel asked kindly.

Santana smiled and looked at Rachel. "I was thinking that maybe Mommy, Mama Rae, and Marley could all watch some tv together," she said and Rachel nodded. "Where's Kurt?" she asked after a moment.

"Early morning auditions," Rachel said and tapped a few keys on Santana's phone to bring up a google display of this Nuk5. Marley started to sink a bit in Santana's arms and Rachel smiled, taking a bite of her own bagel, before feeding a bite to Santana. "You looked like you could use some help," she said with a smirk.

"I actually need to call Miss Susan. Will you sit with her?" she asked. Rachel nodded and moved in close.

"Marley baby, I know you're so tired sweetheart, how about we go lay on the couch together while Mommy makes a phone call okay?" she asked gently.

"Mommy," Marley whimpered.

"Mommy isn't going anywhere baby. I'm staying right here, I just have to make a phone call and then the three of us can cuddle on the couch and watch movies all morning," Santana said.

"Come on love. You come sit with Mama Rae, and we'll find something we can all watch alright?" she asked her kindly. Marley went but she was a sobbing mess. Rachel helped her to lay down on the couch, covered her in a blanket and put Marley's head in her lap. "Shhh, you're okay sweetheart," she said and Marley started to fuss and whine again. "Alright, let's try something different," she said and carefully she and Marley wiggled into a more comfortable position. Rachel stretched out on the couch and Marley laid on top of her, her head resting on Rachel's chest, just below her collar bone, the sound of a heartbeat, finally breaking through all of Marley's sobs and whimpers. "You're safe Marley. Mommy is right over there and she'll be here to join us very shortly," she told her. Marley just cried herself to sleep on Rachel's body, her hands having a death grip on Rachel's shirt.

* * *

Susan looked around the room and sighed. There was a massive mess of toys on the floor of the nursery room and she shook her head and smiled. She pulled out her phone and took a few pictures before going up to the front desk.

"Nicole love, can you send these five pictures to little Joey, he'll be getting a reminder lesson on his next visit about how important it is to pick up toys," she said seriously and Nicole nodded.

"Oh, and before I forget, this is from Santana. She called earlier wanting to talk to you, but you were in session," she said handing her the message.

"Is she alright?" Susan asked reading it over.

"She just sounded stressed, and her little girl was in the background bawling it sounded like."

"Poor Santana, she's doing her best and she still feels so lost," she sighed and went to talk to Beth.

She knocked softly on the office door and Beth didn't look up from her paperwork. "Come in," she called.

Susan walked in, sat down, and smiled. "I need a consult please," she said.

"You?" Beth asked with concern.

"Not for me, for Santana, she called earlier and asked for help. Before I go talking to her, I wanted to talk to you," Susan said.

"Do you think I know more about little ones than you?" Beth asked on a challenge.

"Not at all Miss, I think you know Santana better than I do though, and I think we should come up with a plan together, so that she feels more sure of herself and can gain back some of her confidence," Susan said and Beth smiled.

Standing up, Beth moved over to Susan and gave her a strong and loving kiss. "There is a reason we have you as our head Nanny my darling," she told her. "On your next off session, I want you to schedule something special for yourself, okay?" she asked and Susan nodded. "Now, what should we do to help Santana?" she asked.

"Santana doesn't know how to introduce pacifiers into the daily routine."

"Why pacifiers?"

"The speech therapist sent over documentation stating that pacifiers will help at night. If she keeps her mouth closed while she sleeps, the sores won't dry up. She won't wake up in pain every morning, but because Terri abused her and made everything that should be fun, torturous. Santana is confused. She wants to help her get over that and apparently all Marley has done as of," she explained pausing to look at the message in her hand, "nine this morning and three thirty this afternoon, is cry and sleep."

"That's a very stressful day. Alright, get me the speech therapist on the phone, I'll talk to her. You call Santana give her some kind of comfort, insight to what might be making Marley so upset, and then we'll set up a skype tonight. I have a session pretty soon. As soon as I finish that, I will help Santana in any way I can," she said.

Susan nodded and left the room. She went into the conference room and dialed Santana. After two rings, a different voice answered. "Ms. Lopez," Kurt said.

"Yes, is Santana there please?"

"Um, she's a little busy at the moment. Who's calling please?" he asked.

"My name is Susan, I'm calling from Eve's Garden."

"Oh, the club, okay, hold on," he said hurriedly.

"It's alright dear," Susan started.

"No, it's okay. She's waiting to talk to you, she's just having a small argument with Marley. Give me a few moments please," he said and put the phone down.

In the background, Susan heard soft murmurs and then screams of anxiety and then Santana got on the phone. "Hello?" she asked.

"Well hello yourself my love," Susan smiled and Santana broke down into tears. "Oh honey," she said.

"It's... It's just so much, and I, I don't know, how... how to make her feel any better. She's been crying all day, trying to stay in my arms, and I love her, but sometimes a person likes to go to the bathroom in privacy. I'm messing this up, I don't know what to do," she said not paying attention to what was going on in the other room and trying to control her own breathing

"Santana honey. You aren't messing this up. Marley loves you a great deal. She trusts you and while it is nice to go to the bathroom alone, isn't it nice to know that Marley doesn't care about any of that? All she is focused on is that her Mommy is with her. That's what you were afraid wouldn't happen, so I want you to see this as a success," she told her. "That's first, secondly, I want you to listen. What do you hear?"

"Nothing," Santana said after a moment and she started to cry all over again.

"It's alright sweetheart, that's a good thing. Marley is with your room mates and in good hands and obviously they have gotten her to accept that they are safe as well," Susan said.

"I can't mess this up Miss Susan," Santana said worriedly.

"I know that's what you're afraid of darling and I'm so proud of you for admitting it," Susan praised. "I spoke to Miss Beth honey. We want to help you as much as we can, so you just have to hang in there for a few more hours and then as soon as Miss Beth is done with her last session, we'll set up a Skype. In the mean time, I have some tips for you do deal with fussy babies okay?" she asked.

"Fussy is an understatement," Santana laughed, brushing away her tears.

Susan smiled and spoke kindly. "First you cover the basics. Is she wet, dirty, or hungry. If the answer to all those is no, in Marley's case, you check for muscle spams. I know you know how to do that. Joe told us how wonderful you are with her. If that's still not the problem, I want you to check for sleep. She's going to have a tell, it's almost like poker. Look for something that she does repeatedly and then watch if her eyes get heavy, or if she's cuddled into you, her body will get heavy as sleep tries to take over her. She might try to fight it though, so you have to watch for that. The last thing to look for is anxiety. If something is stressing her out, it doesn't matter how tired she is, the anxiety will keep her up and awake and tired," Susan explained and as she spoke Santana wrote everything down.

"Okay, I think I can handle that. Does Marley need to be around for skype?" she asked.

"From what it sounds like, you're not going to be able to let her go. If she's there, that's fine, if she isn't that's fine too. She can come and go as she pleases alright? Miss Beth and I don't have any problem with that, and if need be, based on what you're saying, I'm willing to even talk to your room mates, while you spend time with Marley" Susan explained.

"Thank you Miss Susan," Santana said calming down, feeling a little bit better.

"Santana, you are strong and powerful, and we are very proud of you here," Susan told her.

* * *

"Marley, you have to eat sweetheart," Rachel told her. It was now dinner time. Marley was dressed in her pajamas for the evening. She was seated in Kurt's lap, because when she sat on her own, she kept toppling over to the side and he was afraid she was going to hurt herself. It wasn't even just to the left, it was both directions. She was exhausted and holding herself up properly was just too much for her. It also didn't help that her Mommy wasn't there.

"Papa made your favorite too sweetheart. Look, chicken and mushrooms and rice, you love all of those things and the rice will help your tummy," Rachel tried.

"Mommy," Marley whined.

"Shhh, no whining sweetheart. Mommy is in the shower, she'll be out very soon. Listen to me. If you want to feed yourself you can. If you want one of us to do it, we will, but you have to tell me what you want. I'm not a mind reader my love," Rachel said kindly, hoping she sounded like Santana. She'd been studying her for the past twenty four hours. Sometimes Santana was very gentle and sometimes she was a little bit firmer.

Marley saw the steam billowing off of her plate, that looked entirely too large to begin with and she started to cry all over again. Terri used to feed her food that was too hot. She'd have to swallow it fast and burn her esophagus, or spit it out. Most times it would burn her face and she would make a mess of herself. Once she spit it out in her hand and burned her palm it was so hot. If she didn't finish food, Terri accused her of being wasteful, if she ate too much, Terri would force her to throw some of it up, telling her she was being too greedy and would get fat. Marley now had a terrible relationship with food and the plate before her, while it smelled good, was just too big, and seemingly too hot for her.

She was now shaking and Kurt looked at Rachel. "She's remembering something," she said. "Look, her eyes are all glassed over," she continued looking at her and Kurt sighed.

"She's in my lap facing away, I can't really look," he said rolling his eyes.

"I hate that I don't know how to fix this," she said sadly.

"She's only been here for two days, you have to give it some time."

"I feel like I don't have it," she said honestly.

"You have all the time in the world," he assured her.

Santana soon walked into the kitchen and stood behind Rachel, rubbing her shoulders as Marley sat on Kurt's lap and cried, not even noticing that Santana had returned. She was off in her head somewhere. "What's for dinner?" Santana asked kindly and smiled sadly when Marley started crying harder and turned in toward Kurt, putting her head on his shoulder and trying to calm down, having a very difficult time of it.

"Chicken and mushroom soup with rice. It's been in the slow cooker all day," Kurt smiled.

"Oooh, my favorite," she grinned and continued to hug Rachel from behind as she watched. She could feel tension radiating off of Rachel, and she wanted to assure someone that things were gonig to be okay, even if that someone was Rachel. Santana continued to watch as Marley's cries got worse, and she went further and further into past memories. Marley moved herself so she was facing Kurt and her head went straight to his shoulder and she started to cry harder.

"Help," he said to Santana.

To everyone's surprise, Santana kissed Rachel's temple softly and then picked up the plate of food. She moved it over to a small table behind Kurt, then she picked up the chair, moved it behind him and took a seat. Deep down she loved that Marley had wanted her all day, but it was nice to have a break and watch Kurt try to bond a little better with Marley.

Santana picked up a fork and put a tiny little bit of food on it. She pulled it to her lips and blew gently, the hissing sound made Marley look at her with confusion. "Hey baby girl are you cuddled with Papa?" she asked her gently and pet her face, doing her best to move slowly so Marley didn't flinch. She still panicked when people moved an open palm near her face.

"Papa," Marley whimpered.

"Yes, Papa, he's good at cuddling isn't he?" Santana asked with a smile. It was that same sweet smile that she'd given her in the bathtub the day before. That gentle maternal smile that was coming out a lot more now that she was fully submersed in her Mommy type world. She was feeling a little more refreshed now that she'd had a shower, and knew that she was going to be talking to Susan and Beth later.

"Mommy," Marley said softly.

"Is Mommy good at cuddling too?" she asked her and Marley gave a very faint smile as Santana continued to blow on the hot food. "Who else is here baby?" she asked her. "Who else is sitting down with us?" she asked gently.

"Mama," Marley said softly and sadly, keeping her head tucked as tight to Kurt's shoulder as she could.

"Very good, and you know what, Papa made a very yummy dinner, and it's going to help your poor upset tummy feel so much better," Santana said honestly. Marley licked her lips and Santana smiled continuing to blow on the food, she knew what was freaking Marley out. "You know what, I think it's cool now, how about you take a tiny bite," she said and brought it to Marley's lips. Marley opened her mouth cautiously and then quickly closed it. "It's not that hot baby, I promise."

"Owie," Marley whimpered.

"No baby. No owie. It's not hot at all, here, you touch it first," Santana offered and she put it near Marley's hand and cupped her free hand underneath, so that in case it fell, she would be able to catch it. "It's alright Marley," Santana promised and instead of touching the food, Marley opened her mouth and waited for Santana to feed her. Marley ate the bite and then began reaching for Santana. She really wanted her Mommy, but she was going to have to crawl over Kurt to do it, and that was going to be painful.

Rachel watched happily and nodded her approval of everything to Kurt. Kurt then gave Marley a kiss to her temple. "Mmm," Santana smiled. "Is that good baby?" she asked.

"Mommy," she whimpered.

"I'm right here love, I'll feed you as much as you want to eat, but sit with Papa. He loves you so much," Santana said and Marley opened her mouth, ready for the next bite. "Do you want to blow on it this time?" Santana offered and Marley did. It was a very slow dinner, but eventually Marley finished half her plate and turned away, indicating she was full. "Alright, Mommy's going to wrap this up and you can have more tomorrow at lunch time," she said.

"Mommy," Marley whined, fresh tears immediately springing to her eyes.

"Please don't whine my love," Santana said.

"You sit with your baby, I will put away the left overs," Kurt said quickly. They changed positions and Santana stood up, holding Marley to her. Marley put her head on Santana's shoulder, keeping a death grip on Santana's pajama top.

"Shh, I'm here sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere. Mommy loves her Marley, very much," she said and Marley started to calm down. "My good girl, come on, let's go walk over to the computer and have a seat. Mommy has a meeting in about ten minutes," she told her and she opened the skype program. Marley curled up in her lap and tucked her head down under Santana's chin. She turned into her chest and whimpered softly. "You're okay baby," Santana cooed gently, holding her little girl and being sure to keep her close while she searched through some sites. "Oooh, we forgot Teddy Bear, should we get Teddy Bear?" she asked her.

"I'll get it," Rachel said and she put down the clean dishes and went to help.

"Can you say thank you to Mama Rae?" Santana coached.

"Mama," Marley said with a slight smile.

"So precious my love," Rachel said and with a kiss to Marley's forehead, she left Mommy and Baby alone. She stood back watching and smiled when she noticed Santana rocking Marley gently from side to side and it impressed her more that Marley was actually falling asleep. "How are you going to move when she's out?" Rachel asked curiously.

"You and Papa over there are going to have to help me," she said.

The skype session went off and Santana quickly answered. "Good evening Miss Susan and Miss Beth," she said once they came into view on the screen.

"I see you have a very sleepy little one," Susan grinned.

"Luckily, yes," Santana said.

"Did you figure anything out after your conversation with Susan today sweetheart?" Beth asked.

"She's very anxious, but I don't know why," Santana said.

"Alright love, let's work backwards. What happened yesterday?" Beth asked.

"I'm not sure Miss. We moved her into the house. It took us half and hour for her to get up the stairs and then we spent the whole day all together. Well most of it. Rachel had a tech to get to, but other than that, we all spent the day together."

"Does she trust them?" Beth asked raising an eyebrow, apparently working something out that Santana hadn't thought of."

"I think she does. She seems to. She let's them hold her and be with her, and she'll even let Kurt be around when we change her, but if I'm not there she tends to get very upset. It usually has to be me who changes her, Ma'am," Santana said.

"It's okay to drop formalities my love, but thank you," Beth told her kindly and Santana nodded.

"Did she give you a tell yet for when she's sleepy?" Susan asked.

"I think so, she tends to put her head on our shoulders. No matter who is holding her," Santana said and Marley started to fuss. "Shhh, calm down baby, I'm here," she said sweetly.

"I want to watch Santana," Beth said kindly. "Take care of her, but let us watch, let us see if we can pick up on some other clue," she said.

Santana nodded and Marley started to cry. "Hey, hey, hey, what's going on my love?" she asked.

"Mommy."

"I"m right here baby, let's figure out what's wrong," Santana said kindly. She helped Marley adjust. Having her head on Santana's shoulder had been her go to all day long. She did it immediately and then her stomach rumbled.

"Ow," Marley whined.

"Ow means potty, should we go into the bathroom love? Should we go sit on the potty and try?" she asked gently. She heard herself and rolled her eyes. "I don't know when I started calling it that," she said thoughtfully. "Marley, that's not fair of me. What word do you like. Potty or toilet?" she asked and Marley whined and didn't answer.

"Why does that matter Santana?" Susan asked kindly and curiously, being sure to keep any accusatory tone out of her voice.

"Potty is a very baby word, and while Marley is _my_ baby, she's not _a_ baby. I don't want to make her feel as if I'm degrading her. I'll call it whatever she wants, but she should get a say in things. It's her life," Santana said.

"I like that answer," Susan said.

"Mommy, Ow," Marley cried.

"Alright, excuse us please ladies," Santana said and they carefully stood and Marley started to cry. "I know love, I know, but I can't carry you, as much as I want to, I'm sorry baby," she said and very carefully walked Marley to the bathroom. It was a very slow shuffle. "Rachel, I need help," Santana said. She put Marley's feet on hers and walked them into the bathroom, helping her to sit on the toilet. Marley let out a cry as her stomach rumbled a second time. "Hold her, I'll get this undone," Santana said. "Hold on to Mama Rae baby, you're okay," she told her gently and Marley carefully wrapped her arms around Rachel, trying to stay calm.

She sat down on the toilet and began screaming in pain. "Crap. Kurt! Tell Miss Susan and Miss Beth, I'm going to be a while," she said seeing how much pain Marley was in. The BRAT diet was working, but not fast enough, and when Marley went to the bathroom, it was like liquid fire pouring out of her body. When you mixed that, with the rash and two blisters that were still healing on her very delicate skin, she didn't know what else to do but scream and cry, and she knew it was okay to do that now.

Kurt went to the computer and waved. "Hello um, Misses, no wait, crap! Hold on please. Santana! Is it Misses or Ma'ams," he yelled and Susan and Beth both giggled.

"It doesn't matter!" Santana called back.

"Marley baby, don't tell Papa we know, but women in control make him very nervous," Rachel said with a slight smirk.

"They make Mama Rae nervous too," Santana said and Marley leaned toward her left, unable to hold herself up any longer, falling into Rachel who simply kissed her temple and let her rest against her as she sat.

"Not as bad as Papa," Rachel told her softly.

"Well what do I tell them?" Kurt yelled.

"Oh for the love of," Santana said and she crouched in front of Marley. "Can you wait with Mama Rae baby? Or do you want Papa to come in too?"

"Mama," Marley said.

"Alright sweetheart. Sit here with Mama Rae, I will be back very shortly," she promised her. She moved into the other room and shook her head. "Go, I'll do it," Santana told him kindly and as soon as Santana was out of the room, Marley started crying, wishing her Mommy would come back.

"What's happened dear?" Beth asked.

"She's in the bathroom and it's like liquid fire is pouring out of her. As soon as she's done, I'll get her cleaned up and we'll go back to resting and she will most likely fall to sleep, or be hungry. She does get hungry and she does make it clear that she wants food, so I'm grateful for that," she explained.

"That's good Santana, that's actually very good, but we've been thinking. Marley wanted to be a baby, because she thought it would be a very great experience."

"Instead she fell into the hands of the devil and now she's this broken, sad, creature," she said sadly.

"She's not broken, Santana, you are helping her, and you're doing more than you think. You automatically call it potty, and she didn't fight you. She didn't even choose, which makes me think one of two things. She still wants what she originally wanted, and with you while she may feel safe, she's embarrassed to tell you she still wants it."

"Or?" Santana asked raising an eyebrow.

"Or, she's still healing and she can't communicate properly. You talk to her in a very gentle tone, which is what she wanted. You're doing wonderful, so what you have to do now, is talk to Marley and explain to her gently that the pacifier won't hurt her anymore. Or anything else for that matter. Baby things are not dangerous. Terri made her think they are, but you and I both know that they aren't," Beth explained.

"Miss Beth is right sweetheart. I want you to get a pacifier for her and I want Marley to be a part of the process. Be patient, it's going to take her, from the sound of it, a very long time to get used to it. Make sure you go over every detail and slowly slip in the explanations as to why she needs it," Susan said.

"What about Kurt and Rachel?"

"Have them be a part of it. Do things together as a family, as much as you can. She doesn't have to be overwhelmed, but she does have to know that she's supported, no matter what," Beth said.

"MOMMY!" Marley screamed in the background.

"Santana! Blood!" Rachel called.

"Gotta go," Santana said kindly.

"Be careful, call me if you need anything," Susan said and the skype call ended.

Santana went into the bathroom and Marley was in floods of tears. "Is she hemorrhaging?"

"No, I think a scar opened up and it's stinging her," Rachel said.

"Alright baby girl, we need to get you clean. You cry and scream as much as you feel you need to," Santana told her gently, petting her face and her hair.

Marley continued to cry and Santana had Marley bend forward, just a little bit. "Where?" she asked Rachel softly. Rachel pulled back the soft cloth that was currently pressed to Marley's bottom and when she pulled it away, there was a tiny amount of blood, smeared in a semi circle. There was also solid waste in the toilet. "Marley, you pooped," Santana said and Marley started to cry harder, her stomach rumbling again. Santana looked at Rachel and seemed to smile happily.

"I think Mommy's lost her mind," Rachel said kindly and gave Marley repeated soft kisses to her temple, to try and reassure her that everything was okay and they would get her out of pain as soon as they could.

"If she pooped, it means her intestines are healing. Pretty soon, no more brat diet, and no more liquid fire," Santana said. "Marley honey, look at Mommy," she said kneeling back down in front of her. "Mama Rae and I will clean you up. Once you're ready, we'll go sit on the couch and cuddle and watch tv, but I want you to know two things. First, I am very proud of you that you've worked so hard that your body is healing. Secondly, do you remember when I first met you? I told you that I would always reward good behavior, so you and I, and Mama Rae, and Papa are all going to talk, and we're going to figure out a good reward for our Marley," she said kissing her forehead and petting her cheeks gently.

"Mommy," Marley whimpered softly.

"I'm right here baby girl, and you did so well today. I am so proud of you," Santana told her. "I have to go get you new jammies, will you sit with Mama Rae a little longer? Then I'll be back to give you a bath," she told her. "Mama Rae can clean you up okay?" she asked.

Marley nodded her agreement and Santana left.

* * *

It was an hour later when all the members of the house were settled on the couch. Marley was curled tight between Santana and Kurt, and Rachel was resting on Santana's other side. Santana picked up her phone and tapped a few keys. "Marley, look at this picture baby, do you know what this is?" Santana asked pulling up a picture of a pacifier and showing it to her.

"I know!" Kurt said excitedly and Rachel smiled and Santana laughed.

"Very good Papa, but I didn't ask you," Santana said. "Do you know what that is my love?" she asked Marley and Marley sat stone still, but blinked. Due to her position Santana couldn't see. "Should we let Papa say it? I think he's going to burst if he doesn't get to tell me," Santana laughed.

"It's a pacifier!" he said and then he shot daggers at Santana. He didn't understand why she was showing Marley something that clearly scared her so much.

"He's so smart," Rachel said rolling her eyes.

"Do you know what people use them for Marley?" Santana asked and again Marley blinked, but it couldn't be seen. Santana felt nothing but tension in Marley's body and it was killing her that her baby was so scared of a simple pacifier. "Maybe Mama Rae knows," Santana suggested.

"I know some babies use them for comfort. They like to suck on them, and it helps them relax," Rachel said reaching over to play with Marley's hair as she spoke. "I also know that there are some grown ups who use them for bad reasons, like drugs and torture," she said and Santana shot her a look. "But I also know that there are some grown ups who use them just the way babies do. They use them to relax and calm their nerves. It gives them something easy to focus on, helps them calm their breathing, and their stress starts to go away. It's just a little more obvious than some other focusing techniques," Rachel explained and Santana nodded her approval.

"That's right, and I know that a long time ago, my sweet Marley wanted it to be something of comfort, but a very mean lady took that away from her," Santana said. "See baby, Mommy wants to give Marley a reward for her hard work and wonderful behavior," Santana said and Marley shook her head no, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Bah, baby," she whimpered.

"Marley's a bad baby?" Kurt asked her and she nodded. "I somehow doubt that very much," Kurt said. "I know that baby Marley is a very good girl who has to fight a lot harder than she ever thought she would. I know that baby Marley is very scared, and she's in pain, but she works very hard for her Mommy and Mama Rae, and Papa whenever she is asked. I think baby Marley and big girl Marley are also sometimes scared of the hard work ahead, so I think that Marley should listen to Mommy when she says that a pacifier would be a reward and not a punishment," Kurt said and Santana gave him a grateful look.

Rachel stood up and knelt down in front of Marley. "Listen to me baby girl," she said kindly. "Mommy is right, she's always said that any decision is yours and we will support you no matter what. That hasn't changed. I do however think this is something that will help you and I will never, ever tease you, or use it to punish you. Rewards are special and it's okay to like a pacifier. It's okay to want to seek comfort in something as long as you're not hurting anyone, and I promise you my sweet girl, if you suck on a pacifier, the only thing that will happen is you might actually get more comfort, and you my darling, deserve lots of comfort," Rachel said. She gave Marley a sweet kiss and then stood up.

"Mama?" Marley asked.

"I have to run to the bathroom baby, I'll be right back," she assured her.

Marley nodded and looked carefully at Santana. "Mommy?" she asked.

"What's up my love?" she asked.

"Wah," she said slowly blushing heavily, feeling hot all of a sudden.

"Try again baby, I don't quite understand," she said.

Marley looked to Kurt and pointed to Santana's phone. "Kay?" she asked him cautiously, the blush still staying heavily on her face, creeping all the way up to her ears.

"Marley, if you want the pacifier, and Mommy is offering it as a reward, then I think you should take it. You should not be afraid of it. Terri was a very mean lady who made it scary, but I don't think Mommy Santana is mean. Mommy knows that a pacifier is a good thing and will help you," he said.

"Mommy," Marley said with a small smile.

"Yes, Mommy is a good lady, and she is the one that put the smile on your face just now," Kurt told her and then kissed her temple.

"Mommy?" Marley asked.

"Yes baby?" Marley pointed to the picture of the pacifier, nodded yes, and the blush was still heavily on her face. Even her ears were red now.

"Is that a yes? Do you want Mommy to order the pacifier for you?" she asked and Marley nodded. "Alright, you get to pick three of them. One for use, a spare for when we clean the first one and a second spare to keep, just in case we misplace one somewhere," she said. "Marley my love, I'm going to promise you something right now. I'm going to promise to teach you, that you wanting to be a baby, at any time, for any reason, is not a bad thing."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone, I hope the wait was worth it. This is my longest chapter to date. The two warnings in this chapter are one Physical Therapy or PT session and Marley dealing with her pacifier(s). I know we did that last chapter, but because Marley has such a sordid past, things are done slowly. So it will take more than one chapter to cover a topic at times.**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter and continue reading. Again, many many thanks to NayaFan, UnholyUnderBoob, and Beaner008 for all of their help and inspirations. Also thank you in advance for any reviews. Enjoy your week.**

* * *

Three days later, when Kurt came back from the gym, he had a small box in his hands. "Santana, you got mail," he called out to her and she came out of the room, looking angry.

"No yelling," she scolded and then he heard Marley's cries, start to get louder in the other room.

"What happened?" he asked putting the box on the table and moving toward the bathroom.

Santana ignored him and went back to the bedroom. Marley was on all fours with a box underneath her belly and Joe was trying to get her to lift her right arm and left leg and she was having none of it. "Marley baby, you're not going to fall, we're right here," Santana tried. She was loosing her patience today. Any other client would have been spanked for such a tantrum. Hell, Santana herself would have been spanked, but she couldn't do that with Marley.

Marley shook her head no and continued to cry. Something was definitely wrong, but communication was limited and Joe sighed. "Santana you have to know I'm not causing this, she's just freaking out and she won't or can't tell us why right now," Joe said.

"It's not you, it's not even her, I know that, I'm just frustrated. I don't know how to help her any more," Santana sighed.

"Alright, cuddle with her, I'm going to think about giving her a different exercise for today. We still have some time, and she's done very well up until now," he said. He stood up and left the room and Santana saw Marley go absolutely rigid.

"Breathe with me sweetheart, you're going to have a muscle cramp if you don't," Santana coached and she got in front of Marley and started breathing for her. "Nothing is going to happen Marley, just calm down. As soon as you're calm, we will sit and cuddle."

Marley just cried. This was too much for her and she was never going to get better, ever again. Santana's heart broke and she carefully pulled Marley into her arms, rocking her gently on the floor, keeping her close and Marley just continued to cry. They were heavy, defeated, heart breaking sobs, that Santana thought would never stop. She carefully shifted her so they were chest to chest and Marley's head instantly went to Santana's shoulder and she tried to rest, but her breath caught in her lungs and she started to cough and sputter a bit.

"Shhh, calm down baby girl, you're okay. Mommy has you and Papa came home. You're very safe my love, I promise," she said and Marley just continued to cry and now hiccup.

Joe came back in and smiled. "I'll give you the choice Santana. I can back off on intensity, so that all her exercises for the rest of the hour are assisted, or I can give her the homework, to do for the next twenty four hours and we can try again tomorrow," Joe said. "Call me when you're ready," he said leaving them alone again.

"Marley, look at Mommy baby," she said and Marley shrieked, gripped tighter to Santana and pushed her head so it was facing inward. Santana's hair was down over her shoulders, and Marley was using it as a shield from the rest of the world. "Come on baby, it's just Mommy, we have to make a decision," she said kindly. "Do you remember all those days ago? Mommy will never ever make a decision for you about you. It's your life, and your body, so you need to be involved in the decision," she said. Marley shook her head no and continued to cry, gripping so tight to Santana, that she started shaking. "Listen to me very carefully baby. If Mommy makes this decision, you're going to have to follow through with it. No matter what I choose. Are you sure you don't want to be involved?" she asked.

"Mommy," Marley cried, shaking her head no again.

"Alright, well if Mommy has to make the decision, you at least get to hear your options," she said. "I know you say you don't care right now, but I don't think that's true at all and I will not go back on my word to you," Santana said and Marley wiggled a little bit, her body slumping down so that her head was tucked just under Santana's chin. Marley did this a lot and while Santana loved to cuddle this way, she was very concerned that Marley was doing more damage than good for her body. "Listen to me baby girl, there are two options. Mr. Joe is going to give you homework to do and I'm going to help you with it. That is option one. Or we can choose option two and Mommy and Mr. Joe, will help you right now and then you can rest the rest of the day. No homework and tomorrow we start fresh," she told her. "Do you want option one, or option two?" Santana asked holding up one finger and then adding a second. Marley did good when she was given fingers to point to and Santana made sure to always give her some sort of way to communicate.

Marley again shook her head no. "Mommy," she said sadly.

"Alright baby, well then Mommy is going to make the decision for you, and we're going to tell Mr. Joe that you and he and Mommy are all going to work together right now. I want you to calm down first though," she told her kindly.

* * *

It took ten whole minutes and before Santana called Joe back in to help with therapy, she grabbed a few tissues and helped Marley clean her face. "I'm right here baby, loosen your grip a little bit for me," she said gently. "Now that you're calm, Mr. Joe is going to come back and we're going to finish therapy together," she told her and Marley looked panicked. "Shhh, it's alright my love, I'm not leaving you, and Papa came home, so pretty soon, Mama Rae will be home and then we'll all sit and have a nice lunch together," she told her. "Now, very softly, before I call Joe back in, do you need to be changed?" she asked her.

Marley blushed heavily but nodded. "Alright, let's get you changed and then we'll call Joe back in. Lay down for me sweetheart," she told her. Marley carefully put herself down to her belly and then rolled over, looking around the room wildly as Santana stood up to get the supplies. "We need a few things right baby?" she asked softly. "We need a new diaper, wipes to make you clean, cream for your rash, and Teddy Bear," she said gathering her things. She gave Teddy Bear to Marley who pulled it tight to her chest and kept her eyes glued shut. She started to shake and cry when Santana started to roll her sweatpants down, until Santana started to sing.

Marley didn't like to look. She didn't like to remember that she was in this terrible situation and no longer had control over two, sometimes three, very important bodily functions. The problem was, when they changed her and kept quiet, her mind went back to being with Terri. Bruises happened when Terri changed her. Things were shoved into her or ripped out of her. Words of worthlessness and hatred, were spoken when Terri was changing her. Santana's job, or sometimes Rachel's job, was to keep Marley focused on the present.

"You were in college working part time, waiting tables, left a small down, never looked back," Santana sang and she continued to sing while changing Marley. When she finished she lifted Marley up into her arms and held her, rocking her and Teddy Bear. "I love you baby girl," she told her. "Mr. Joe, you can come back now, we're ready to continue," she called to him.

The rest of the session consisted of Marley having her feet moved in a bicycle type motion. The point was to loosen up her hips and lower back. She cried at first and then would only whimper once or twice as the circles got larger. "Alright Marley, that was good, the last thing we have to do is bridges. You have to lift a little bit. One set of twenty five holding each one for three seconds. Even if you lift a thirty-secondth of an inch, I will be happy with you okay. The only way you will not progress is if you stay flat on your back and don't move, does that make sense?" he asked her.

She simply blinked and Santana smiled. "I'm right here my sweet girl. You only have ten minutes left, and Mr. Joe, only wants one set, so you just take my hand, keep your core tight and lift those hips," she told her gently and leaned in close. "You know how you do when Mommy changes you? It's the same thing, just held a little bit longer," she whispered.

Marley nodded slowly and brushed away her tears. "Marley honey, before you start, I want to remind you of something," Joe said kindly. "When you first met me, you couldn't do that, you would just lay there and cry and now you do so much, so I want you to be proud of yourself too alright?" he asked her and she nodded slowly. Marley closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before opening them back up and looking at Joe. "Ready?" he asked her with an encouraging smile and she gave a slow nod.

Two minutes into exercising, Marley was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. On the fifth bridge, she was crying in pain. Five minutes into it Marley cried out as a muscle spasm took over her right calf. "Come down Marley," Joe said and lightly pressed his hand on her stomach and she freaked out.

"MOMMY!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and Joe hung his head and sighed, while Santana grabbed the offending muscle to help control the cramping and lessen the pain.

"Santana, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking," he told her.

"It's alright, she has to get used to it. Do you have to leave, or can she finish the set?" she asked.

"I'd like the cramp to pass and then see where we're at. She's done ten of them by now, that's huge for her, I'm very proud of her," he said watching Santana pet Marley's face and then hum softly to her.

"Alright, give me a few moments then," she smiled and he nodded, looking up smiling at Kurt who was standing in the doorway, toweling his hair dry, while Marley laid on the floor and screamed.

"How's progress?" he asked kindly and Santana turned and smiled.

"I want you to sing for her," Santana told him.

"You should be so glad I love her," Kurt said and he walked over behind Marley, sat down and tapped her gently on her scalp. "Marley, look up at Papa baby. You're okay, you are. You're very safe in your bedroom. Mommy's here and Papa's here, and Mr. Joe is here and all we want to do is help our sweet Marley," he said.

"You're not singing," Santana said.

"If I'm singing, I'm going to do it, my way, so stop," he scolded Santana and she shut up, although she did want to continue to banter. She didn't like being told off, that was one of the reasons she liked being a Mistress. The power and control and feeling of being on top, always having the last word, and making others submit to her, made her feel incredible.

Kurt looked down at Marley and smiled at her. "Alright my beautiful girl, keep breathing, and Papa will sing for you okay?" he soothed her and she closed her eyes and tried to breath. "No sweetheart, look at Papa, or look at Mommy, I don't want you going off into your head. Only happy things right now," he told her gently. "Should we sing your happy song?" he asked her. She nodded her head slowly for him and he smiled at her. "Good girl Marley," he smiled. "Should we ask Mommy for back up?" he asked her and she gave him a genuine smile. Kurt looked at Santana and she nodded, humming softly for him. "And I'll remember, the love that you gave me, Now that I'm standing, on my own, I'll remember, the way that you changed me, I'll remember," he sang softly to her and she calmed down.

Kurt finished the song and Marley wiggled a bit. "Mommy," she said.

"What's up baby?" Santana asked.

"Ba-aff," Marley pushed out.

"Yes baby, as soon as Mr. Joe leaves, I will get you into a bath, I promise," she smiled at her.

"Marley, I'm going to put my hands on your stomach, I'm sorry I scared you before," Joe said and he held up his hands for her to see. "I want to help stabilize you, so that's why I want to put my hands on your stomach. If you really don't want me to, I won't, but I know that if I do, I'll feel your muscles and I'll be able to curb your exercises to help you gain strength," he explained.

"Mommy," she said.

"Mommy can help, and Papa is right behind you. You are in your bedroom, our bedroom, our house, and you're completely safe sweetheart," Santana told her.

She blinked quickly and Santana looked at Joe, nodding her confirmation that he could now put his hands on her. He helped her do her last ten lifts and then Joe gave Marley a high five and left the little family alone.

"Alright baby girl, how about that bath?" Santana said and with Kurt's help they got her into the bathroom and then Kurt went to wait for them on the couch. He pulled out two apples, cut them up, and spread some peanut butter on them, knowing it would help Marley. He also made a few smoothies, knowing that she would actually drink them. Marley had been giving them a little bit more of a hard time when it came to eating. They'd been feeding her for the past five days and it was starting to catch up with her. She noticed that her stomach wasn't as sunken in. She couldn't see her collar bones in the mirror anymore when she was held up in front of it. She was gaining weight and if she continued to do so, at this rate, Santana was going to get rid of her, she knew it.

Kurt just set the apples and peanut butter down on the little kitchen table just as Santana and Marley came out of the bathroom. "There she is," Kurt smiled and walked over to help them. Santana did a wonderful job helping Marley to move, but both Kurt and Rachel felt bad that she was doing it on her own, so they always made a point to help her. Marley was guided to the table and sat down. Kurt slipped in on her left side immediately to prevent her from falling over.

"Eat your apples please baby. Papa is right next to you and I will be right back. I need to go answer a few emails," Santana said kindly.

"Mommy," she pleaded.

"As soon as I finish we can cuddle baby, I promise," she said and Marley looked crushed.

Kurt wrapped a protective arm around Marley and spoke gently. "Mommy is very quick when it comes to emails my love, do you know why?" he asked and Marley shook her head no. "Because being away from you makes Mommy very very sad, so she does her absolute best, to be as fast as she can so that she can come back to you," Kurt smiled and Marley gave a small smile. She'd been distracted long enough to let Santana slip out of the room and Kurt was now keeping Marley busy.

"Will you eat some more baby?" he asked her kindly. Marley pouted, but opened her mouth. "Papa has to feed you?" he asked and she just looked at him and waited. This was becoming a habit for her. She was getting much more comfortable with her new family and was letting them do more and more for her, when she was in a younger state of mind. They hadn't picked up on it though. Marley was just their sweet, semi scared, beautiful baby girl, and they would treat her any way she wanted, even if they didn't understand it. "Alright princess, here we go. Open a little wider, so I don't make a mess," he told her kindly and she did as asked. He placed the apple slice on her tongue and waited for her to bite down, but she didn't do so. "Sweetheart, I can't eat it for you too. Bite down, it's okay," he told her and she carefully bit down, enjoying the taste and it took her a good two minutes to chew and swallow, but Kurt never pressured her, or told her to eat faster, he just let her be. After she swallowed, she looked at Kurt.

"Papa?" she asked.

"Yes baby?" he asked her and she reached toward the box curiously.

"I don't know what's in the box sweetheart? It came to Mommy's name. As soon as she's done, we'll ask her to open it and find out," he said.

"Mama Rae?" she asked.

"Mama Rae is working late tonight. She was supposed to be home for lunch, but she got called to work later. She'll be home much after we all go to sleep," he said honestly and Marley looked hurt.

"Bah?" she asked.

"You had a bath," he told her gently and she shook her head.

"Baby," she said softly.

"Yes, you're our baby, what about you?" he asked gently.

She shook her head no and tried to push out good, but all she was able to get out was "Guh."

Kurt thought for a moment and then smiled. "Baby Marley is very good. Big girl Marley is very good too," he assured her.

"Mama Rae?" she asked.

"Everyone who lives in this house and works with Mommy thinks that Marley is a good girl, including Mama Rae," he told her. "More apple?" he asked and she shook her head no. "Not any? Are you sure?" he asked and she nodded yes, not wanting to eat any more. She was too tired from her therapy session, and demonstrated so by letting out a long yawn and leaning her head onto Kurt's shoulder. "Santana, anytime you want to finish would be great," he called out to her, choosing his words very carefully.

Marley gave a soft sigh and fell a little more into him. "Alright big girl, come here," he smiled and pulled her into his lap and she immediately cuddled against him. He wasn't Santana, but he and Rachel were close seconds now.

Santana rolled her eyes at the computer screen as she finished up her emails. She then gave it a break and went into the kitchen. "Taking something of mine Lady Hummel?" she asked softly, her eyes sparkling playfully.

"Waiting for you to get back, you are missed," he said.

"Clearly," she said gesturing her hand up and down at him.

"Marley baby, look, Mommy's done," he said softly, keeping his eyes trained on Santana, but lowering his head just enough to talk into Marley's ear. It always amazed him how she could make herself so small against any of them.

Marley turned her head and reached her arm out. "Mommy," she smiled softly.

"Hey there big girl," Santana smiled as she sat down and pulled Marley into her lap. "My lovely," Santana smiled kissing her temple. Most of the time, she Rachel, and Kurt, made sure to use loving words, when referring to her. Rachel was trying to come up with a cutesy name for Marley, but so far none of them fit. "Did you eat apples?" she asked her kindly and Marley nodded. "I see, will you eat one more for me?" Marley nodded tiredly and shifted herself so that Santana could feed her.

Santana was able to feed Marley one more apple slice with peanut butter very slowly as she kept her cuddled close, seated sideways on her lap. The infamous box was just in front of her, but she hadn't quite noticed it yet and she looked at Kurt when she noticed him watching them intently. "So what's in the box?" Kurt asked his gaze moving from the girls, to the box, and then back to the girls again.

"What box?"

"The one I told you about, when I walked in earlier," he said pointing to it, as it sat in front of her on the table.

She reached around Marley and pulled the box closer. She turned it over three times and then set it down. "They sent it wrapped in packaging tape. If you want to know what it is, you're going to have to open it for me," she said.

"You're still just a little bit irritating," he told her, standing up and getting the scissors to open the box. Had Marley not been sitting there, he would have called Santana a pain in the ass, but he didn't like saying things like that, because of the situation Marley had come from. He didn't open it fully, he just opened it enough to make sure that Santana could get inside it.

He gave it back to her and she made a face at him, feeling Marley wiggle a bit in her lap, trying to get comfortable. Santana rubbed her back and with her free hand opened the box and smiled. "Marley, look sweetheart, look what came in the mail today," she said with a smile, pulling the box closer to them and Marley looked inside and immediately burst into tears and started squirming, trying to get away from Santana, struggling so hard that she practically fell on the floor, curling herself into a ball, in the corner of the kitchen.

"Did you order live poisonous snakes?" Kurt asked raising an eyebrow.

Santana growled at him and handed him the box. "Do not open it, she has to be the first one to do that," Santana said strongly and then she went into the other room, got Teddy Bear, and went back to the kitchen. "Marley, I got Teddy Bear sweetheart," she told her and moved in close, handing him over. "Shhh, breathe. Breathe carefully, calm your breathing, so you don't get sick," she said kindly.

Marley panted and gasped for breath, shaking her head no, and tears pouring down her face. Finally she calmed and looked at Santana. "Marley, Marley look at me. Look at Santana," she said.

"Mommy!" Marley wailed.

"Shhh, no sweetheart, not Mommy, not now. Not Mommy because we need to talk. Not Mommy because you are so scared. Not Mommy because not even Baby Marley will trust me right now. Not Mommy until it's time. It's not time."

"Mommy," she pleaded.

"No. Not until Marley is calm. Not until Marley is ready to talk and knows she can trust me," Santana said and Kurt felt his heart breaking. "Kurt, go away please," Santana said calmly sensing him behind her, simply watching. With a heavy heart, he started to walk away.

"Papa!" Marley screamed for him, not wanting to be alone.

"No Marley, not Papa, not now. Kurt go," Santana said strongly.

"Mommy," she begged again.

"Marley listen to me. Look at me. When you're ready, you blink. That was our very first form of communication. That's what we go back to."

"Mommy," she said softly, her breath under control but tears were still falling at a fast rate. "Mommy," she pleaded again.

"Marley, you're not ready. You're not ready for Mommy, because you are too scared," Santana said and Marley shook her head no while tears cascaded down her cheeks. "Yes you are sweetheart, and I'm not mad at you for that. I know you are though, because if you thought Santana was safe, if Mommy Santana was safe, then you wouldn't be huddled on the floor and crying, trying to get away from me. Now I will help you, just like I always have before, but you Marley, are not ready for Mommy right now. Babies trust their Mommies. They get scared, but they know that Mommy is safe. Right now Marley, you don't believe that, and that's okay," Santana assured her.

Kurt wanted to rush in and hold Marley tight, or have Santana move in and hold her tight, because he could see her shaking. Marley looked at Santana and after a moment began to blink quickly. "Good girl Marley, very good," Santana told her. "Now, I'm going to take Teddy Bear and move him close to you and back away. Understand?" she asked and Marley blinked quickly. Santana put the bear close to Marley and then stood up and backed away. She was only three feet away from Marley, but it felt like hundreds of yards. Marley was so scared that she just kept shrinking into herself and the corner of the wall.

"Marley, do you remember when we first met, and I told you I was a Mistress and that I liked control?" she asked her and Marley blinked. Santana smiled. "Good girl, here's what you don't know though. Control is always two parts. People give me control and I give them respect. They give me a list. They give me permission to be the one in charge. That is giving up control. I give them tasks to complete. I stick to their list. I make sure I don't take anything that is not mine. If my person says to me, you are not allowed to touch my foot, then I never touch their foot. Not ever. Me touching their foot breaks that trust. Me breaking their trust makes me a bully," she explained.

Marley shook her head no and spoke quietly. "Mommy," she begged.

"I know that you're scared honey, and I know that your mouth is still too sore for you to say my name, but you calling me Mommy, means you trust me, and right now you are too scared to trust anyone, including me," Santana said. Marley's eyes flooded with tears once again. "I'm not mad about that Marley. I'm not mad at all. You have to be safe. You have to know that I will not violate your trust and if I push you too far, then you have to tell me somehow. We will work on that communication, but no Mommy, until you are calm enough to know that I'm not going to hurt you." Marley looked at Santana with confusion. She thought she did know that, but apparently, she didn't. She took a shuddering breath and tried very hard to calm herself.

Marley sat on the floor thinking about first how cold she was. Then she thought about all the days she'd spent with Santana. Santana had shown her that she could be trusted from the very first hour that they met. The problem was, Marley was scared of herself. She had desires, she didn't understand; wants that made her think she was a freak. She closed her eyes and thought for a moment before opening them and looking at Santana. She couldn't say her name. The sores inside her mouth were too dry and painful to say any of the letters properly. In order to fix this, she just stared. She very carefully, laid down on her tummy and looked at Santana.

Santana felt her heart break with relief and laid down on the floor as well. The two girls were a mirror image of each other and Santana smiled at her. "Do you know what scared you?" she asked her honestly and Marley blinked. "Well that's a good start and we'll figure out a way for you to tell me, but not at the moment. Right now I see a girl, my friend, in pain, and freezing, so we have to get you warm somehow. I can get you a blanket, but that requires me getting up. Can you stay still while I get up and get you a blanket?" she asked her. Marley blinked and in the other room Kurt groaned. He hated how painfully slow this was all going.

Santana took the blanket off the back of the couch and walked over to Marley. "Tap the floor Marley, I can't see your eyes. Once for yes, twice for no. Can I cover you with the blanket?" Santana asked and Marley slapped her hand lightly on the floor once. Santana gently draped the blanket over her and then took her mirrored position.

"We have to build it up again Marley. We have to build up your trust of me, because something scared you so much, that you felt safer running away from me, rather than staying with me to have it explained to you," Santana said. "Does that make sense to you?" One tap to the floor. Santana smiled. "Easy questions Marley. Are you calm now?" One tap. "Is your heart ready to jump out of your chest?" Two taps. "Do you know where this house is?" One tap. "Do you know who lives in this house?" One tap. "Do you know my name?" One tap. "Do you know what you want to call me?" One tap. "Do you know why you want to call me that?" Two taps followed by a very heavy frown. "Can I move closer to you?" One tap. Santana inched closer ever so slightly and Marley's hand came out from under the blanket. She put her hand over Santana's, squeezed lightly, and cried softly. "Do you know in this moment that I won't hurt you?" One tap. "Do you know what scared you before?" One tap. "Do you know why it scared you?" One tap and then she burst into tears.

"Mommy," she pleaded and she painfully pushed her body into Santana as best she could. "Mommy," she wailed, begging Santana to hold her. She felt terrible that she'd mistrusted someone who she had learned was nothing but nice to her. Santana went out of her way to make Marley feel safe and loved and accepted and the moment she followed through on her promise to show Marley that being a baby wasn't a bad thing, Marley doubted everything that she'd been taught and in her mind hurt Santana's feelings. "Mommy," she begged again and pushed herself even further into Santana, trembling with the desire to be held by the one lady she trusted the most and the fear that she was going to be rejected.

"Okay, can you be Mommy again, because she's breaking my heart," Kurt said softly knowing Marley couldn't hear him because she was so worked up.

"She doesn't trust me Kurt. I showed her a box. I let her open it, and she ran away."

"She fell off of your lap to get away from the "bad thing" in the box," he said.

"It's still the same thing. She doesn't fully understand that I'm safe, we're safe. If I can't teach her that, how am I going to be able to teach her anything else?"

"Okay," he sighed holding up his hands. "You're the Mistress, you went through training, I didn't, I'll give you that, but I see a small, tired, desperate little girl, begging for the safety and comfort that only a mother can give her, and right now, she believes that you are the mother figure she needs. She only does this with you. She asks where Rachel is and she'll sit with me, if you're near by, but you are the one she wants and does trust," he said and then he walked away.

"This is the hardest job I've ever had Marley, and I just don't want to fail you," she said out loud, while stroking Marley's hair. She very carefully shifted them around, until they were sitting up and Marley was in Santana's lap. "You and I are going to go sit on the couch and cuddle and rest, and you will let me know when you're ready to proceed. We have to talk and figure out what scared you so much, so it doesn't happen again. I think I know, but I need you to tell me, somehow, when you're ready," she said.

* * *

An hour later, Santana was seated on the couch and Marley was stretched out across her body, slouched down just enough to have her head on Santana's chest and Santana was playing with her hair. Marley was exhausted, she wanted to sleep, but Santana's words had stuck in her head. "Not Mommy. Not now," and she couldn't be one hundred percent sure that Santana would be there when she woke up. Santana picked up the remote to change the channel and as she brought the remote back to her body, Marley took her hand. "Mommy," she said, her voice soft and strong.

"We talked about this Marley," she said gently.

"Mommy," Marley insisted holding Santana's hand tighter in her grip.

"You're calm now Marley, and I'm very glad for that, but the thing that scared you, that box, that's over in the corner and it isn't going anywhere. We have to deal with it. If you are calling me Mommy, I'm going to assume that you are ready to deal with it, with me, even though I know you might still be scared," Santana said.

"Papa," Marley said softly tightening her grip on Santana's hand.

"This is like the floor honey," Santana said opening her hand to a flat palm. "Do you want Papa with us to open the box?" she asked. Marley tapped her hand once.

"Mommy," she said seriously and went back to holding Santana's hand.

"Okay, well then we're going to work out a system sweetheart. So here's the deal. If you get scared, you have to squeeze my hand and I will do my absolute best to slow things down and explain it to you, but no more running away. If you run away then we stop and you will not call me Mommy, or Kurt Papa, or Rachel Mama Rae, until you can communicate better, using all your words. Do you remember what I told you before? If you want to be Baby Marley, you can be. Being baby Marley is not a bad thing and big girl Marley can call us those names too, but you can't run away all the time. Running away means you don't trust us, and I don't want to do anything with you or for you, that you are not trusting of," she explained. "Should I call Kurt now?" she asked and Marley shook her head no.

"Mommy," she said softly.

"You want me to call Papa?" she asked her and Marley nodded an emphatic yes. "Alright, I will call Papa, but for right now, while we open this box, I need to be sure that I am talking to big girl Marley. I want everything explained to her in every aspect, do you understand?" Marley nodded.

"Mommy...Ay-fff," she said softly.

"We need your blocks," Santana said kindly and gave Marley a kiss to the top of her head. "Can you say it faster?" she asked.

"Ayff," she said after a moment.

"Mommy's safe?" Santana asked her and Marley nodded. "Do you truly believe that Marley? Do you truly believe that Mommy Santana will keep you safe?" she asked her kindly and Marley blinked, nodded yes, and tapped Santana's palm. Santana gave a small laugh and gave Marley a loving squeeze. "Okay sweetheart, let's call Papa, and get on the floor, by your blocks. If you have to spell I want you to be able to do it," she said kindly.

Santana slipped onto the floor and kept Marley close, her arms low and tight across her hips. "It's just me and Papa sweetheart. In a safe place, it will always be a safe place here and whatever you don't understand you ask. Make sense?" she asked and Marley nodded yes. "Hey Kurt!" Santana called.

Kurt joined them and smiled. "Hey. What's going on?" he asked kindly.

"Come join us, we're going to try opening the box again," Santana told him.

"Can I know my name before we start?" he asked with a smirk taking a seat in front of Marley and pulling her wooden lettered blocks closer to them.

"Papa," Marley said with finality cuddling into Santana and smiling at Kurt.

"Oh good, I'm glad to hear that. I like being your Papa, Marley," he told her smiling. "Kisses for my good girl?" he asked her and she nodded, so he leaned in and gave her a kiss to her forehead.

"Alright, so where is this box?" Santana asked and she looked at Kurt, who reached for the box and Marley tensed, but closed her eyes, let out a long breath and looked at the box. "So, this is the big scary box that came today, but what if, it was just a box?" Santana asked her taking it from Kurt and Marley tracked Santana's actions very carefully. "What if, it was just an empty box that had nothing in it, would you still be afraid of it?" Santana asked her putting it much closer to Marley's body. Marley still tensed, but pushed back into Santana in order to feel safe. "Where are you Marley?" Santana asked her kindly, stopping her entire box conversation.

Marley reached for the blocks after a moment. H...O...M...E

"Very good my sweet girl, so tell me, this is a tiny little box, so nothing big and scary could be in there right? I mean, that's silly it wouldn't fit," Santana pointed out. Marley thought for a moment and nodded her agreement. "Now, do you remember three days ago when you and Papa and Mama Rae and I sat down and we talked about something as a family, do you remember that?" Marley nodded yes. "Do you remember what it was we talked about?" Santana asked.

Marley nodded yes and reached for the blocks, carefully finding the letters she needed. S...U...C...K...E...R "Is that what you want to call it?" Kurt asked her kindly. Marley shook her head no. "Can you spell what you really want to call it?" he asked her.

She thought for a few moments and cuddled into Santana. "Mommy," she said softly looking down at the hands locked around her. "Mommy, Ayff," she said.

"Yes baby, Mommy Santana is safe. Things that happen in this house and with Mommy Santana are always safe. They may be scary, I won't lie about that, but always safe," Santana said.

"A new word," Kurt praised. "More kisses for progress," he told Marley and she raised her eyes to look up and him and smiled. He gave her another loving kiss and then let Santana take over again.

"So tell me sweetheart, what did we talk about the other day. We ordered three of them, what do we call them?" she asked. Marley took a deep breath and her eyes flooded with tears. She was allowed to say what she wanted. She was allowed to communicate. She was allowed to live out her fantasies in a safe place, but she was still scared, because she'd thought she was safe the last time she tried this. With trembling hands Marley reached for the blocks, spelling out the word she wanted. She wanted pacifier, but Terri had used that word and made pacifiers a bad thing. The pacifier had hurt her. The pacifier was forced upon her so much that she now had to use wooden blocks with brightly painted letters carved on them in order to communicate.

She rotated the letters carefully and spelled out pacifier. "That's a big word, but I know that some of those letters you can say. Will you try for me sweetheart? Can you break it down and say pacifier?" Santana asked. Marley thought for a moment and sounded it out in her head, working her jaw gently. She pointed to the C block and shook her head no. "I know, S sounds are still hard, that's okay, can you try anyway? I don't care if it sounds horribly mangled, just a little tiny try," Santana encouraged.

Marley thought for a few moments and cuddled into Santana. Kurt thought that if Marley truly tried she would meld herself into Santana's body completely. It was so nice to see that Marley trusted her so much. "Pa-fy-ah" she finally pushed out.

"Marley that is amazing! I am so proud of you," Kurt praised her and took her hand, squeezing it gently before leaning in and giving her kisses.

"Very good baby, I am very proud of you," Santana praised. "So tell me my love," Santana said placing the box aside and picking up two wooden blocks, not caring what letters they were and put them in front of her. "We're going to play a small game sweetheart, this is like tapping the floor, only now we do options. I will tell you which block is which option, I promise," Santana said kissing her temple gently and Marley nodded.

"Are pacifiers big?" she asked picking up the left block, "or small," she continued picking up the right block. Marley picked up the right block. "That's right," she praised. "And why would we use a pacifier in this house? Is it for comfort? Or for torture?" she asked and Marley lifted the left block. "That's right, and where does Marley put her pacifier, in her mouth, or somewhere else." Left block. Kurt wasn't sure he wanted to hear any more about the somewhere else part. "Very good and who gets to decide when Marley uses her pacifier?" Santana asked. "Mommy or Marley?" she asked and Marley froze, she honestly didn't know the answer.

Kurt saw panic in her eyes and looked at Santana, they were on the edge of a melt down, he could see it. "How about this Marley," he said showing her the two blocks. "Who _used_ to be in charge? Marley or someone else?" he asked. She lifted the right block with trembling hands. "And that was not right at all. The only person who should be in charge of Marley using her pacifier is Marley," he told her.

"Papa makes a very good point," Santana said. "Tell me lovely, who do you think gets the right in the house? Who says Marley can use her pacifier in this house. Marley or someone else?" she asked and Marley thought for a moment and lifted both blocks. "You think both? Okay, sometimes, or all the time?" she asked and Marley thought for a moment. Left block. "Okay, so sometimes, someone else has to tell Marley to use her pacifier?" Santana asked and Marley shook her head no. Santana remained exceedingly patient. "Okay, so who gets to decide when Marley can use her pacifier, in this house, Marley, or someone else?" Santana asked. Marley lifted the left block, but with a great deal of hesitation and her eyes held lots of uncertainty.

Santana smiled and continued. "And why would Marley need her pacifier?" she asked. "Does Marley need it for comfort, or just for play?" she asked and Marley slowly lifted the left block. "Comfort?" Santana asked and Marley nodded yes. "Well to me it sounds like a pacifier is a very small thing that would fit in a tiny box like this and would make Marley feel comfortable, if she was scared and concerned about something," Santana said. "Did Mommy understand?" she asked and Marley nodded. "So then why don't you reach into this box right here and pull out this tiny little thing that is going to give you comfort, if you need it," Santana said.

Marley's hand trembled but she reached into the box. "Mommy," she squeaked.

"I'm right here sweet girl," Santana said. Marley hesitated and Santana pet her hair. "Do you remember the talk we had before baby? Do you remember how Mommy Santana explained that control is a two way street? Do you remember that if Mommy Santana took total control and didn't give you any options that would make her something else?" Marley nodded and fumbled with her blocks for a moment. B...U...L...L...Y, Marly spelled. "That exactly right and Mommy would never bully anyone. It's not right and I get no pleasure out of that, so you don't ever have to worry about that. The most control I will ever take is if I see you freaking out and I will suggest that you take your pacifier to help calm down," Santana said and she very carefully pet Marley's hair. "But if you refuse to use it, that's up to you. Only Marley controls if she does or doesn't use her pacifier," Santana said and Kurt watched Marley process all the words that were beings spoken to her.

"Here's the deal though baby girl. Right now I want you to reach into the box and pull out all three pacifiers. I want you to look at them, study them carefully and know that they are safe, just as you are in the house."

Instead Marley reached into the pile of blocks and began to look for the blocks she needed. S...C...A...R...E...D she spelled and Santana nodded. "Do you want to take a break and have a drink?" Santana offered and Marley thought for a moment before nodding yes.

"I will get juice for everyone," Kurt said. He went into the kitchen and Marley turned herself slightly, pushing her entire side into Santana, sinking down just enough that she could rest her head on Santana's shoulder. Santana was desperate to push Marley just a little bit, she was so close, but then all the work, they'd just accomplished would be for nothing, so she cuddled her close and kissed the top of her head.

"Look at me please baby," she said and Marley did. "I am so proud of you. I know you're scared, and I know you want to stop, but you are doing so well. You are answering all of my questions, and you're communicating, you're doing so very well," Santana praised and Marley smiled and snuggled in closer.

"You two are seriously sickeningly sweet," Kurt said returning with three cups of juice. "Lemonade for me, for Santana, and for Marley fruit punch," he said and Santana shot him a look. He rolled his eyes at her and nodded yes. They were still trying to get Marley's body balanced, so anytime she had fruit punch, it was that same pedialyte drink, she'd been having in the hospital. They'd put it in the fridge before she even moved in and any time they bought more, the bottle was kept out of Marley's view. Santana had been adamant about it. The "baby drink" was to be kept out of view at all times. Marley already doubted herself and didn't understand her desires, so there was no way they were going to tell her, or show her, that her "juice" was in fact something meant for very small children to keep their bodies balanced. It worked well for adults, which was why they used it, but there were definitely other ways to get electrolytes into her. The main problem was with all the sores in her mouth, she couldn't eat a lot of things without it causing her pain. The juice was the easiest route.

Kurt handed Marley her cup and with two hands, she took hold and very carefully brought it to her lips before making a little noise of frustration. "I can help Marley," Kurt offered, but he didn't move and Santana forced herself to stay still. Marley wanted to do this on her own, so they were only going to help if she made the decision. Marley shook her head no and took a deep breath. Exhaling, she tipped the cup slowly and got most of it in her mouth, spilling some of it down her shirt. She shrieked in surprise and Santana quickly grabbed the cup.

"You're okay, you're okay. You just tipped a bit too much," Santana soothed and very quickly Kurt returned with a napkin so Marley could blot up the small puddle. "You can do it, or I can help," Santana offered and Marley let Santana take care of her. Once she was clean, she gave soft whine. "Okay my sweet girl, here's the deal, I'm going to give you a choice," Santana explained. "Option one is we finish what we started. You pull out the pacifiers in this tiny little box, and just look at them, and then do whatever you want with them. You can put them back in the box, you can use them, whatever you like and then you and Mommy sit on the couch and you sleep. Option two is you and Mommy sit on the couch now and nap, and we leave the pacifiers until the morning, because I can see, on my sweet girl's face, that she is beyond tired, and honestly, so is Mommy," Santana told her.

Marley thought for a moment and then held up two fingers. "Option two it is," Santana smiled. "Should I change you first?" she whispered softly and Marley shook her head. She didn't feel wet and her stomach wasn't rumbling. "After our nap, we will change you then," Santana told her kindly. She got the two of them up on the couch and Marley put her head against Santana's chest and went right to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone. This is a bonus update. I had a lot of good things and happy things happen to me today.**

**A) Frozen was released today**

**B) It's Glee's 100th**

**C) I'm in the process of starting up my own business**

**D) I got a really nice text from a friend to encourage me to have a good day &**

**E) One of my favorite authors updated one of their stories that I love so much.**

**As always, I'm very grateful to see that so many of you are reading and following the story. I am going to be a pain in the tucas and ask for reviews. The last few chapters had 5 or less reviews, and honestly that makes me think you aren't really that interested in it. So please review, tell me what you like, what you hate, what you notice that I may have skipped over and not noticed on my own.**

**Warnings for this story are still trust issues and the use of a pacifier for it's intended purpose of having a calming effect.**

**Proper credit as always to Beaner008, NayaFan, & UnholyUnderBoob.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

Santana woke up two hours later and looked down at her chest to find Marley still sleeping and Teddy Bear was tucked next to her. There was also a post it on her back and she wrinkled her brow and looked at it. _"It's 3:30. Went to gym. Graveyard shift tonight for me. See you both tomorrow - Kurt/Papa" _"Lovely," Santana said. She was now trapped under Marley and she had to get up. Her bladder is what woke her up to begin with. "Okay baby girl, nice and slow," she said to herself and she began breathing deeply, to get Marley used to the small movements. After a minute, Santana moved Marley off of her body, using her breath, only moving Marley on the exhale, and then rubbed her back for a minute before leaving her alone and running to the bathroom. She didn't shut the door all the way, and prayed that Marley wouldn't wake up with the sound of the flushing toilet, or running water. Luckily, everything worked out well and she was able to return to from the bathroom, un-missed.

Santana paced the kitchen for a while, trying to decide what she should make to eat for dinner for herself and Marley. They'd learned that Marley could and would eat spinach as long as it was wilted and cooked, something that only Kurt could handle. "We need cooking lessons or something," Santana thought, and she pulled out some bread, cheese, and a can of tomato soup. Once it was all thoroughly cooked, she set it all aside and went to check on Marley, who was just waking up. "Hey there sweetheart," she smiled.

"Mommy," Marley said with a soft smile.

"Hi Baby. Did you sleep well?" she asked and Marley nodded, but her eyes immediately filled with tears. "Do you hurt?" she asked. Marley shook her head no. "Can you say the word?" Again Marley shook her head. "Ugh, my love, we need to teach you to sign, or get you better faster, so communication is easier. Okay, are you hungry?" A long blink. "Are you wet?" A fast blink. Santana smiled. "We need a sign for potty," she smiled and helped Marley into the bathroom. "I'm going to bend down sweetheart, hold my shoulders," she said and as she bent down she brought down Marley's sweatpants. She untaped her diaper and had her sit down on the toilet. "Can you sit here while I get your things?" she asked her.

Marley looked concerned that Santana would leave her sitting there and she started to whimper in fear. "Mommy" she whimpered.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay sweetheart, I'm not going to leave you here for long, but all your things to change are in our room. I have to go get them," Santana explained petting her face gently.

"Mama?" Marley asked and worked her jaw a bit, the sores inside her mouth, causing her some pain since they'd dried out during her nap.

"Mama Rae isn't home yet baby. It's just you and me," she said.

"Mommy," Marley said reaching her arms out, needing Santana told hold her, even as she sat on the toilet.

"You're okay sweetheart, I promise," Santana said gently and Marley just cried. "You can't stay naked forever sweetheart, we need to get you cleaned up and into new underwear," she said. Marley shook her head no and held tighter. Santana rubbed her back and spoke kindly to her. "You don't want to stay on the toilet forever do you?" Santana asked after a few moments and Marley shook her head no. "Alright then, so Mommy is going to go to the bedroom, get what we need, and then come straight back okay?" Santana asked and Marley shook her head no again. "I will make it fast baby girl. I will sing, so you hear my voice the whole time," Santana bargained. "What songs does my baby like? How about what Mama Rae sings all the time. "Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter," Santana started and she belted the entire song from the second she stepped out of the bathroom until she got back, which was one whole verse.

"Marley my love, I will always come back for you sweetheart. Always. Until one day you decide you don't want me to, and even then, I might be a pain in the neck and still come back to you," she smiled and Marley gave a very soft and tearful laugh. Santana got her changed and into clean clothes. Once she was set, the two girls went back to the living room and Santana set Marley on the couch. Marley rolled onto her back and took a breath.

"I wish you could tell me when this moving around business was going to get easier," she thought to herself. She carefully rolled onto her belly and let her hand hang off the couch. She looked at her little pile of blocks not paying too much attention to where Santana was in the room. She could see her legs over by the television so she spelled her word while calling out for Santana, trying to make it clear that she needed to tell her something. "Mommy," she called out, realizing that she needed help.

"Yes baby?" Santana asked, not moving away from the television just yet.

"Mommy," Marley said again.

"I'm right here sweetheart, I'm just setting up a movie for us," she told her and then returned to the couch to see Marley on her belly and the word juice spelled out in her blocks. Santana smiled and picked up two blocks showing them to Marley. "Fruit punch?" she asked showing her the J, "or water?" she asked showing her the U block. Marley pushed the J block carefully back to Santana and Santana gave her a kiss to her temple.

Santana returned a few moments later with the cup of juice and looked at her "Do you want to do it, or do you want Mommy to help you?" she offered her.

"Mommy," Marley said.

"Alright, we'll do it together," she said. She set the cup on the coffee table, readjusted Marley to a seated position, got on her left side, and helped her drink her juice. "Very good my sweet girl," she praised once the juice was finished. "Okay, so my lovely girl, we have some options here. I have Mary Poppins all set up in the DVD player for you and no matter what happens you get to watch it, but I wanted to talk to you about the box and the three pacifiers inside it," she said and Marley went tense, but cuddled into Santana's side.

"I know, it's not a topic you want to talk about, but I kind of have to. Miss April gave me instructions and some websites to show you," Santana said. "You see sweetheart, Miss April actually wants you to use a pacifier, whenever you want, as well as when you sleep," she explained and Marley didn't seem tense any more, she just seemed confused. Why would her speech therapist want her to use something that would impede her speech. Wasn't the entire point of speech therapy to get better?

"So, this is the website," Santana said pulling it up on her phone. Most of the information was about how pacifiers helped clam anxiety and Marley would have been the first person to admit that she was anxious a lot of the time now. It was all Terri's brainwashing, she knew that, but it didn't help matters that the memories still lived with her and haunted her, on her road to recovery.

"And now, I will give you the run down. You have to open the box. You don't have to use the pacifiers, but you have to open them, and look at them. Do you understand why I want that?" she asked and Marley shook her head. "See baby, Terri was a very mean woman, and she made non scary things very scary for you. You have to claim them back as just normal things. If you never want to use a pacifier, you never have to. I don't care if Miss April doesn't like that answer, but that's the truth. I'm not going to force you to use it, but you do have to at least look at one, hold one, understand that it's just a thing, with no real power over you," Santana said.

Marley seemed to think about this and then nodded her agreement. "Beyond that, I want you to understand, that if you ever choose to go back to using pacifiers, that they aren't a bad thing. Nothing will be coated on them, unless you do it yourself," and Marley looked at Santana curiously, taking hold of Santana's hand. "Mommy once heard a story about a lady who poked a hole in her pacifier with a syringe. She filled the nipple with some sort of peppermint schnopps serum thing, and then froze it. She took it out of the freezer, hours later and the woman was sucking peppermint schnopps out of her pacifier when she went to an expo," Santana said and Marley looked at her with even more confusion.

"The point is my love, you are in charge of those pacifiers. You and only you, control when a pacifier goes into your mouth and only your mouth. We will never tease you, or make fun of you," Santana promised. "So what do you say my love, are you ready to take them out of the box?" she asked and with hesitation and a heavy sigh, Marley nodded her agreement.

Marley cuddled into Santana, gathered up all her courage and lifted out all three at once. The one on the far left had a blue plate with a red ring, more like a boy's pacifier, but she liked the shade of blue and touched it carefully. "Does it feel like anything specific baby?" Santana asked her. Marley shook her head no and handed it to Santana so she could feel it. "Feels like plastic, but it stays outside your mouth, should you choose to use it, so that one seems safe," she said and Marley nodded her agreement. The second one had a pink guard with a green ring and Santana smiled. "Mama Rae is going to tell you that one is Wicked, or a Watermelon, I can guarantee it," she told her with a smile. The third one had a yellow plate with a purple ring and a tiny little picture of tinkerbell on the front of it. "Is that a fairy?" Santana asked and Marley nodded. "Did you know that I called Papa a fairy in high school? A lot actually," she said and Marley looked shocked. "Relax sweetheart, Papa knew I was doing it, and he knew I didn't mean harm by it. I just didn't have a nickname for him," she said honestly and Marley thought for a moment realizing he wasn't around.

"Papa?" she asked.

"Papa had to go to work tonight, it's just you and me, until Mama Rae gets home, and you and I might be asleep by then," she said.

"Moo?" Marley asked.

"Moo? That's a new word baby. I'm proud of you for saying a new word, but I don't know what it means," Santana said honestly. "Can you spell it out for me?" Santana asked and Marley nodded. Santana lifted the two of them to the floor and pet Marley's hair letting her take her time. M...O...V...I...E," Marley spelled.

"Yes, we can watch the movie now," Santana smiled.

* * *

It had been a week since Marley opened the infamous box. She had yet to use the pacifiers and April had of course told Santana off for not getting her to actually use them. Rachel was in the back bedroom with Marley, helping her change into a clean shirt, since she spilled juice all over the one she'd been wearing.

"Mama? Bah?" she asked pointing to her chest.

"No sweetheart, you are not bad. You didn't do anything wrong. Your hands fumbled and you dropped your juice, that's all. As soon as we change your shirt, we'll go back out there and you can have your lesson with miss April," Rachel told her kindly. Marley pouted and Rachel laughed. "It's okay, your Mommy makes those same faces when she has to do something she doesn't want to as well," she told her giving her a kiss to her forehead.

In the other room, Santana and April were having words. "I asked you to get her to use them."

"And I told you, I'm not forcing her. If she wants to use it, then fine, but it is her choice. I got her to see them, hold them, look at them, that's the best I can do. I will not force her," Santana said strongly.

"Santana, I don't know how else to make you understand this. I'm not the evil person here. Terri was the evil person. She is the one who tortured your little girl. She tortured the person who calls you Mommy. Marley calls you that for a reason. She calls you that, because she trusts you. I'm asking you to trust me. I know you don't. I don't know why you don't, but I promise you, I'm doing everything I can to help her. My job is to get her to heal her mouth, with the pacifiers at night, so that she can eventually start speaking full sentences," April lectured and Santana felt like she was back in high school in geography class, or in the choir room with Rachel giving some random odd lecture about performance techniques.

"She's afraid, I can't make her do something that scares her," Santana scared her.

"That is most definitely _not_ true. She didn't do a lot before you showed up. She talks for you, she moves for you, she gives her absolute best effort all for you. Before you showed up, we didn't think she was capable of any of the things that she does now. She didn't even cry or scream when they changed her, before you showed up," April said and Santana's eyes flashed with surprise. "You didn't know?" April asked in shock. "Okay, listen to me very carefully Santana. Marley sees you as her mom, the one who is in charge and makes the rules and is safe. I want her to heal. My way, will work. You have to talk to her and back me up on this," April said.

Santana and April had started softly, but their voices were rising and in the bedroom, Marley heard her. "Mommy?" Marley asked Rachel as Rachel helped her straighten her shirt out and got some lotion to put on her hands.

"Yes baby, I hear Mommy too. She's a Mommy Bear right now, and she's protecting her cub. Do you know who her cub is?" Rachel asked with a smile and Marley nodded proudly. "Papa says he only likes Mommy as a bear when she's defending us," Rachel said and Marley let out a little giggle. "Come on big girl, let's go and have your lesson. The faster we do it, the faster it's over," she said and Marley gave a sigh, but nodded. She carefully swung her legs over the bed and let Rachel help her to her feet. Rachel caught her weight before she fell back down to the bed and moved in quickly behind her. They laced their hands together and Marley locked out her knees. Rachel carefully pushed her own knee into the back of Marley's and bend by bend, they shuffled out of the room and into the main living space.

April was seated at the kitchen table and Rachel put Marley in the chair next to Santana. Santana was already seated on the left. Marley leaned into her and Santana kissed her temple. "Marley, I asked Mommy to stay with us for this lesson okay?" April asked and Marley nodded. "So, today is very simple, we're just going to say the alphabet. I know there are some letters that cause you lots of pain still, so for now we are going to skip them. I want to tell you though, that I know how to help heal the sores on the linings of your cheeks," she said.

Marley looked at her hopefully and then looked toward Santana who seemed far away somehow. "Mommy?" she asked softly. If Santana wasn't paying attention, or didn't trust April, then there was no way in hell Marley was going to trust April.

"I'm not leaving you baby, I'm here. Let's listen to what Miss April has to say," Santana said and Marley nodded.

"Thank you," April smiled at Santana. "See Marley, I've talked to a friend of mine and he's a dentist. The reason you wake up in pain in the morning is because the sores are drying out while you sleep. During the day, you are constantly swallowing or drinking, keeping your mouth lubricated naturally. At night, when you sleep, you stop all of that. The way to keep it going is to suck on something. Now I would never suggest you sleep with something that you could swallow in your mouth. That could be very dangerous and I have a feeling that if your Mommy even thought I might suggest that, she would have me out the door faster than anyone could ever imagine," April lectured kindly and Marley nodded her agreement.

"Mommy, Ayff," she said.

"Yes, your Mommy is very safe, especially when it comes to you. Now I know that before this big mess, you wanted to be someone's baby, and some babies, even some toddlers, use pacifiers. I truly believe that if you used a pacifier at night, only while you sleep, it would help your mouth heal faster, and I really think you want that," April told her.

Marley thought for a moment and nodded her agreement. "Thank you," April told her. "Now, I want you to keep that thought in your head and try tonight to at least start. Even if you start slow. One hour minimum, and then work up to all night. I know that Terri was a very mean lady who made non scary things absolutely terrifying for you, and for that I'm sorry, but in this house, with your Mommy, who is very safe, it's okay to try those things again, especially if it's going to help you get better faster," she said.

Marley gave the same sigh as Santana and from the kitchen stove Rachel covered her mouth, so as not to laugh at how alike "mother and daughter" actually were. "Now that that's over, I want to go over today's lesson. Can we try your alphabet please?" she asked and Marley agreed. "Can I look at your tongue first so I can update my notes?" she asked. Marley opened up her mouth and stuck out her tongue. The tip was covered in tiny little blisters all around the edge, her lips looked chapped, and April could see the two large sores at the back of her mouth, on her cheeks, one on either side. "The big blister on the top of your tongue is all healed up Marley, that's wonderful news. The little ones around the edge are getting smaller, from when I saw you two days ago, so that is wonderful news. Do your cheeks still hurt?" she asked with genuine concern.

Marley nodded yes. "Can you tell me how much they hurt? On a scale of one to ten? One means, only when you go to eat or talk, and ten means all the time, even when you just have your mouth closed," April said. Marley thought for a few moments and held up six fingers. "Six?" April asked and Marley nodded. "Okay, well I've set up your blocks and based on what I see, I'm going to take away the letters that I know will hurt your tongue and mouth even more, okay?" she asked.

Marley and Santana both watched with curiosity as April carefully picked off the letters. She had all twenty six set up, but one by one, she pulled them out. C, D, L, N, Q, S, T, V, W, X and Z. "Okay Marley I took away eleven letters. That means you are about sixty percent healed and for that I am so proud of you. Do you know that I work with people who at this point in the game still only say vowels? I'm really proud of you," April said. "Let's go slow okay. You say the letters that I point to, and we'll make sure that nothing in here hurts you okay?" she asked and Marley thought for a moment and then took Santana's hand. She could do it if she had full support.

* * *

Two hours later, Marley was finished with her lesson and sitting on the floor of the living room, in Santana's lap, holding her teddy bear as she watched tv and Rachel stood in the kitchen cooking, singing the ABC song. Marley looked over at Santana and giggled, cuddling into her. "What's so funny baby?"

"Mama Rae," she said.

"Why is Mama Rae funny?" Marley reached for her blocks and spelled out the word sing. Santana listened and started to laugh herself. She had to admit that it was pretty funny that Rachel was the one singing the ABC song. "Mama Rae was very good in school. Maybe she's trying to do your homework for you," Santana teased. Marley smiled and leaned into Santana letting out a long loud yawn. "Are you tired my love?" she asked her and Marley nodded.

"Alright well how about you take a little nap," she suggested.

"Mommy?" she asked.

"Yes baby?"

"Mouf?' she asked.

"Your mouth? Does it hurt?" Marley nodded that it did and Santana looked concerned about this. "Maybe it was all your exercises today. Shall we try eating a banana to help the muscles, and then maybe a nap?" Santana suggested. Marley thought about it for a moment and then agreed. She kept quiet about the fact that maybe she was ready to try the pacifier.

Santana cuddled her for an hour, getting her to eat three quarters of the banana, which was an improvement, and she drank an entire glass of juice by herself, which was also a huge improvement. "I am so proud of you Marley, you are making such great progress, and I want you to remember something. For as long as you wish, I will be your Mommy. If you ever want that to stop," she said and Marley quickly looked at her and shook her head no, curling in tight to her side and wrapping her arms around Santana's waist as best she could. "You don't have to baby, but know that you always have that option, should you want it," she said.

"Mommy?" she asked and Santana looked at her kindly waiting for her to continue. "I go," she said and then she threw her hands in the other direction. Santana took a moment to figure it out and smiled.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" she asked and Marley shook her head no. "Then you do not need to worry my lovely girl. You can stay here as long as you want to," Santana told her.

Marley was sound asleep ten minutes later and very carefully Santana removed herself and let Marley lay down on the couch. She got up and went into the bedroom, to go over some emails that her clients at the club had sent her. Most of them knew that she was out of business for a while, due to personal complications, and a majority of them, still emailed her their transgressions for the week. She would come up with the proper 'punishments' for them and then send a copy of her orders to the club. Santana would be paid on her training pay schedule and any tips that she acquired were saved up and mailed to her at the end of the week. One client even added a hand written note that they hoped she got everything straightened out with ease, because she was greatly missed.

One of the emails was from Susan and Santana read over it carefully, to be sure she understood.

_"Hello my darling Santana,_

_We have been getting lots of requests for you to come out of your hiatus. Miss Beth and I have talked about all the pros and cons of such a decision. None of the clients are walking. They want to wait for you. Miss Beth and I are slightly concerned about how long Marley's recovery will keep you out though. In order to strike some sort of compromise I am offering my services as a babysitter for Marley. I will meet her with you, spend as much time with her as I can while you are around, and then we will slowly move to having me with Marley and you with your clients. The reason I am offering this, is because she can be here at the club with you. I have the nursery setting and the playroom setting, she'll also be close to you. I would like for you to simply consider this option. We are not pushing you or Marley in any way. Just know that it is available to you. Wishing you, Marley, Rachel, and Kurt all the best._

_Susan."_

"Yeah, that's not awkward at all," she sighed. She scrubbed at her face and then went over the email three more times, to be sure she truly understood what was being asked of her. She was about to go over it a fourth time, but Rachel's scales in the bathroom, brought her out of her thoughts. She decided to check on Marley first. Marley was completely out, her chest rising and falling evenly as she took a much deserved rest. For a brief moment, Santana wondered if she should put Marley on a nap schedule. She quickly shook that thought from her head and squashed it. There really was no need for it. Marley did the best she could to communicate at all times, unless she was terrified about something.

Santana waited for Rachel to come out of the bathroom and they began discussing the idea of babysitting. They had been talking things out for the past hour and no one heard Marley wake up. Marley heard them, but tuned them out. She focused on the box that was just on the other side of the coffee table. That box held her pacifiers, and she was starting to think that maybe it might help. Maybe April did know what she was talking about after all. Marley took a deep breath and reached outward. Her arm didn't quite make it, so she wiggled her fingers, trying to inch closer, but still wasn't close enough. She let out a little muffled grunt of frustration. She took a deep breath in and on her exhale she reached a little further, except she reached too far, leaned a bit too much and fell off the couch, alerting Santana and Rachel that A) she was awake and B) she was probably in pain now.

It didn't take long for Marley to catch her breath from the shock of the fall and for tears to start flowing. She was angry at herself now for crying, and she was angry that she had put herself in pain, so she just laid there and cried. Rachel and Santana were with Marley quickly, trying to calm her down and getting her to still herself so they could check her for injuries.

"What happened love?" Rachel asked.

"She went pole vaulting!" Santana replied with nothing but snark in her voice.

"She knows what I meant," Rachel said and carefully pulled Marley into her arms and cuddled her. "I'll hold you and Mommy can check you over to make sure nothing needs serious medical attention," she said and Marley agreed. Her gaze was very relaxed and Santana wasn't sure she liked that.

Rachel brushed away her tears and kissed the top of her head and Santana ran her hands carefully over Marley's body. Her gaze seemed far off and Santana was trying to gage Marley's current state of mind. She seemed to be staring off to the right at something, but it wasn't an intense stare, just a gaze in that direction. She wasn't sure if she should say something or not, so she carefully snapped her fingers over on Marley's left. "Marley baby, are you okay? Do you hurt somewhere else?" she asked trying to get her attention.

Marley looked at her and Santana smiled. "Hi baby. Are you okay, do you hurt somewhere else?" she asked and Marley shook her head no. She wasn't completely focused, she was having a stand off with the box. Right now it held all the power and she didn't like that. She wanted to take back her power. She wanted to do something that would make her better, she wanted to try, but she couldn't move so well. She sat against Rachel feeling warm and comfortable for a moment, until her belly rumbled the famous rumble that meant she needed the bathroom. Rachel and Santana carefully helped her to stand and lead her into the bathroom. They sat her on the toilet and her body erupted, making her scream in pain.

She sobbed heavily as Rachel and Santana carefully cleaned her up. There was still one sore on her bottom that was raw enough to open up every so often and leak small traces of blood. "I'm so sorry baby," Santana told her and she grabbed one of the warm cleaning cloths and pressed it to Marley's wound. She applied gentle pressure and looked at Rachel. "Let's get her ready for a bath," Santana said.

Rachel nodded and began filling up the tub. "What are you doing?" Santana asked.

"Running the bath," Rachel pointed out.

"Before I rinse her down? Do you want her sitting in her own filth?" Santana asked angrily.

"Hey, back off, I've never run a bath before for her."

"Yes you have!"

"No! Actually, I haven't," Rachel said and the two continued to squabble, not realizing how upset it was making Marley. They had done this all the time. They would fight and things would blow up, and the next day, everything would be fine, because the "blow up" would absolve all the tension between them. They actually hadn't had a fight in a really long time and this was the first time in front of Marley.

Marley screamed again and both Rachel and Santana jumped. "Oh for the love of," Santana said trailing off and she carefully guided Rachel's hands onto Marley's body and got the shower ready so she could rinse Marley off before letting her soak in a bath. Marley was holding on to Rachel tightly now and trembling, almost violently.

"Santana," Rachel said calmly and there was something in her voice that tipped Santana off that something was not right at all. She turned to see her little girl, trembling with tears streaming down her face.

"Stay with her," Santana said softly. "Marley honey. Look at Mommy baby, it's okay, you're okay," she said and Marley shook her head no, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Shhh, okay, let's communicate baby, we do that very well, don't we?" she asked her kindly and the softness and kindness in her voice only made Marley cry harder. She hugged Rachel tightly, buried her face in Rachel's neck, trying to get smaller and shook.

"No baby, look at Mommy," Rachel coached gently and Marley shrieked softly when Rachel tried to guide her into a different position. "Ah, ah, ah, no," Rachel told her. "Look at Mommy baby. Something is very wrong and Mommy and Mama Rae will help you, but we can only do that when you communicate and hiding against me is not going to accomplish that," she lectured. Marley simply cried and Santana frowned.

"Okay," she sighed. "So we try something else," she said and she carefully stripped down to her underwear. Rachel's eyes went wide. "I'll hold her, you rinse off her bottom. Just be careful. You can't let the flow hit her wounds directly. Start at her low back and let it roll down on it's own," she said.

"She's going to scream again, isn't she?" Rachel said as they carefully got her settled into a stable standing position, something that Marley seemed dead set against.

"Probably," Santana said. Rachel set the sprayer to light and started at Marley's back and Marley screamed. It was the scream that Santana had learned well. Marley was scared, but she wasn't saying of what. "Do not cry on me Berry," Santana said firmly.

"Stop telling me what to do," Rachel said and she didn't look up. She couldn't watch Santana, otherwise, she really would lose it. She was trying to keep it together for Marley, but it was increasingly difficult with each passing second.

Marley finally leaned on to Santana fully and just cried as hard as her body would let her. "Okay, she's clean, and it's all been washed down the drain. Does she like apple or bubble gum bubbles better?" Rachel asked holding up the bottles.

"Apples are usually preferred," Santana said calmly and she watched Rachel start to add the bubbles. Then she moved over to doorway and Santana called her. "Rae, thank you for your help," she told her.

"For you, I will do a lot, for Marley I will do anything," she said with a slight smirk and Santana laughed, watching her leave the room and shut the door behind her, to keep the heat in.

"Alright baby girl, let's sit in the bath. You and Mommy, you're okay," Santana soothed. She lowered the two of them down and Marley shook, not cuddling into Santana at all, which was highly unusual. "We need to talk baby girl. You have to tell me what has you so upset, or at least try, so that I can help fix it," she tried. Marley shook and Santana sighed. This was all on her, no blocks, no real words, just her and Marley. "Alright sweetheart, let's try. You screamed before and I know that scream. Are you scared?" she asked and Marley nodded weakly, tear flowing freely once again. "Alright my love, what has you so scared?" she asked trying to recall what'd happened just recently. It took her some time and then she realized. "Did Mommy scare you?" she asked and Marley burst into heavy sobs. She was going to be beaten now, she was sure of it. Santana felt her heart break and thought a while longer, trying to hold Marley close, but she was too scared to lean in. "Oh baby, I'm so sorry love," she called kindly and she carefully covered Marley's ear. "RAE!" she yelled, making sure she would be heard.

"WAIT!" Rachel called back and appeared a minute later in the doorway. "What's up?" she asked.

"Come sit please, I figured out what's wrong," she said and worry crossed Rachel's features, but she sat down just outside the tub, resting her chin on her hands, on the ledge of the tub. "I did it, I'm the one who scared Marley," she said honestly and Marley started crying again.

"How? She loves you."

"When I snapped at you earlier. She doesn't know we do that a lot," Santana said.

"It's not a crazy amount of a lot though," Rachel said gently.

"It's the first time Marley's seen it," she pointed out and Rachel frowned.

"Is that what freaked you out baby? That Mommy and I were fighting?" Rachel asked kindly. Marley just cried, afraid to move it seemed. "Honey listen to Mama Rae very carefully. Mommy and I have been fighting and calling each other names for years! We have a very strange love/hate relationship. Mommy has a temper and when it flares up she yells and snaps and growls a lot. She's like a Mama Bear protecting her cubs. The other thing is that right now you are her cub and she loves you a great deal. She was concerned that I wasn't going to take good care of you. That's why she yelled, but we're still friends and she still loves you very much."

"I love Mama Rae too," Santana said softly. She knew Rachel wouldn't make that statement, but it had to be said because Marley needed to hear it. It was also true and Santana knew Rachel had to hear it too.

"See honey? It's okay. It just sometimes things get a little loud between us. We're both very stubborn women, although neither one of us like to admit that," she said honestly.

Marley looked unsure and Rachel smiled kindly at her. "How about you and Mommy finish your bath. As soon as your done, I'll take you into the kitchen and we'll have a small snack and Mommy can take a proper rinse off or shower, because right now, she's in her underwear and I don't think that's how she wants to stay," Rachel said.

"What do you say love? Does that sound like a good plan?" Santana asked gently.

"Kay," Marley said softly.

"Good. Finish up sweetheart and call me when you're ready okay?" Rachel said and she leaned in and gave Marley a kiss to her forehead and then kissed Santana's cheek before leaving.

"Can we cuddle while we sit in this nice warm bubble water?" Santana asked gently once Rachel had left. Marley didn't move and Santana frowned. "Okay sweetheart, we'll sit here till your ready to either cuddle or get out. I leave it totally up to you," Santana said.

* * *

**Again, please Read & Review, so I know that there is actual interest in it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well and here is Chapter 9 of the story. It is one of the shorter chapter for sure, but know that, as creative as this story is, I didn't realize how much energy it took out of me and sometimes, you guys need a break too. Especially after last chapter.**

**The warnings for this chapter are still trust issues and Marley's used of the pacifier.**

**Also I would like to take a moment to explain one thing. I know that I basically pleaded and slightly blackmailed you all into reviewing. What I would like to explain is that I was concerned. I personally took a risk with this story and after 178 view for chapter 7, I had ONE review, so I honestly thought there was no interest in the story. It tells me, that the story is reviewed and who's following and who's reviewing, but it doesn't tell me if you read it all the way through, or if you gave up because you were grossed out by something in the story. If that makes sense. So please do review. You don't have to review EVERY chapter. People have lives, I understand that. It's why I only post once a week most of the time. I don't want to promise something and not be able to follow through with it. However, if the reviews dwindle, then I tend to think interest has been lost, so if you could all check in every two or three chapters, I would love that.**

**Also the other thing I never mentioned and should have, is that EVERY song I reference in this story has been done in the show by said character, so if you don't remember it you can you tube it or google it or something and you'll be refreshed. I'm really glad I picked these characters though, because even with these talented singers, it gets hard to find performances that fit the situation. **

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I look forward to any review you feel like leaving. I'm also up for PM's to answer questions and/or concerns. Also, many and massive thanks to NayaFan, UnholyUnderboob, & Beaner008 for all their guidance and inspiration.**

**All the best my friends.**

* * *

It took twenty minutes for the water to start to cool off and Santana called for Rachel and together they got Marley out of the tub, dried, dressed, and then Rachel took her into the kitchen. "What should we eat sweetheart?" Rachel asked.

"Eeee," Marley said softly.

"Point to it baby, I'm sorry," she told her honestly. Marley pointed to the pack of string cheese and Rachel smiled giving it to her. "Here you go love," she said and then she set about figuring out what she was going to make for dinner. "Marley honey, let's try grilled cheese tonight okay?" she asked and Marley instantly dropped her snack and Rachel sighed. She said something that triggered other things, because now Marley's bottom lip was wobbling and Marley looked rather upset. "Oh sweetheart, I don't know what I said," Rachel sighed and she sat next to Marley and tried to wrap her in a hug, but Marley screamed and Rachel sighed heavily. "Okay, okay, take a breath honey," she said kindly and Marley just cried.

_"Someone seems to be a picky eater," Terri had said. She had on a terribly sweet sickening voice, and Marley didn't trust her. It'd been a month now and after two weeks Marley had seen Terri go from demanding with a few bits of comfort to downright cruel with no comfort ever. "If that's how you want to play it fine, that's all you'll have," she said and she put a large bag of carrots into the blender. Marley watched with wide eyes as Terri ground up carrots into a paste. "I want it gone, all of it, and if you don't, I will force it down your throat," Terri said. There were four cups of mashed up carrots in the blender now, in a thick paste, and Marley did her best to eat as much as she could. Unfortunately Terri didn't approve, and she force fed Marley all the carrots, the poor girl gagging and sputtering. Marley couldn't do it and Terri was getting frustrated. She threw the blender of carrots on the floor and everything shattered. "You'll be cleaning that up later!" Terri growled and without warning she yanked Marley over her lap and began spanking her firmly, turning her bottom a bright shade of red, and creating two large blisters._

Marley's memory had taken over her body and she didn't even realize that she was in the living room, on the couch, in Santana's arms. "Shhh, Mommy's here, you're okay baby, and Mama Rae would never ever do anything to hurt our little girl. I'm so sorry we scared you before," she told her gently. Marley's breath was getting out of control and Santana looked at Rachel. "I can't, and you know it."

"Her breath is out of control, she's going to hyperventilate and pass out," Rachel said.

"I can't force her," Santana said.

"She hears you. Try. Don't force. Strongly encourage. You know there's a difference," Rachel said.

"Get the fairy one," Santana said rolling her eyes and she pulled Marley tighter to her body. "Okay baby, listen to Mommy," Santana said. "We have to have a very serious talk sweetheart. I'm not forcing you. I would never ever force you to do anything that scares you baby, you know that right? Mommy does her best to be as careful as possible when it comes to you. Right now though, you're not breathing well, so we want to help you control it," she said and Rachel returned, carefully putting the pacifier into Santana's hand while still staying out of view. "Look baby, just look at it. I'm not going to put it in for you. You're going to do that, if you want," Santana said. "I don't want it to be so hard for you to breathe that you pass out on us. It's just Mommy baby, it's just you and me, and if you suck on the pacifier it will help you calm down," Santana said.

Marley heard a few words, but not full sentences, and her chest was starting to hurt and it was starting to get harder and harder for her to get air into her lungs. "Listen to Mommy, Marley. Just hear Mommy's voice," Santana said.

"Sing Santana, sing anything," Rachel said kindly.

"Like what?"

"When I find myself in time of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be," Rachel sang and Santana took the hint and continued.

"And in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be," she said. Marley couldn't focus though, it still hurt to breathe and while she was in safe arms, she felt really scared. Santana stopped singing and pulled Marley tighter, kissing her temple softly and repeatedly before putting the pacifier in Marley's hand. "This is your choice baby, but if you suck on that, you'll have to regulate your breathing and it will stop hurting and stop being so hard, but I will not force you," Santana said.

Marley looked at the pacifier in her hands with wide eyes, trying to figure out what Santana wanted her to do with it. She couldn't truly hear anything going on around her and then she realized that she was too worked up. It happened all the time when she was younger. She'd get all worked up about something and then she couldn't hear things. A few words broke through Santana's little lecture and Marley shoved the pacifier in her mouth, almost violently. "Easy, easy, don't choke," Santana said and she carefully hooked her finger in the loop, tugging lightly on it. "Just have it sit there baby, the more you suck, the more you'll have to regulate your breathing, it's okay, you're safe. It's just you and Mommy," she said and looked to Rachel.

Rachel smiled and shook her head. "She can't know I'm here right now anyway, you're doing great, and she's doing better," Rachel said pointing kindly to the now less stressed out Marley, from her perch on top of the couch.

Marley put her head on Santana's chest and simply held her breath. "No sweetheart, it's okay," Santana said and she took the pacifier out of Marley's mouth and let her breathe how she wanted. "I don't want you to be scared of this honey. It's just to help you calm down right now, and Miss April wants you to use it at night so that your mouth doesn't go dry," Santana explained.

Marley cried heavily and let all her weight fall against Santana. It took several minutes but eventually Marley cried herself to sleep. "I hate this," Santana said gently.

"And what would that be?" Rachel asked moving to sit on the coffee table.

"That I can't help her. That I'm not helping her."

"You can't possibly think that Santana," Rachel told her.

"I do. She's so stressed and so out of it, that, ugh, I just. I'm failing her and I didn't want to do that," she said.

"Okay, listen to me very carefully lady. You and I don't see eye to eye on a lot of things. Including this apparently. Santana, Marley does everything, for you. She speaks, she eats, she moves, she tries, and it's all because you showed her that you can be trusted, that you won't hurt her."

"She just had a total melt down," Santana said and as she spoke Marley shifted a bit, laying her head flat on Santana's chest, sighing softly.

Rachel smiled and nodded. "She did, obviously over something I said, which I'm sorry about, but do you think that two months ago when she was with Terri, she got any of this? Do you think Terri would hold her, bathe her, let her even have a tantrum? We both read the file Santana we know she came from a really terrible place. You are helping her. I can't imagine how frustrated you might be at what seems like slow progress, but you need to give yourself credit. You're doing a really fabulous job," she said honestly.

"I just can't fail her and she was so scared."

"It's not failing Santana, it's finding ways that do or don't work. We also have to find out what I did to set her off, because I definitely did it," Rachel said.

"You wouldn't be able to make anyone do that!" Santana said kindly and softly.

"Apparently you've been proven wrong," Rachel said with a cheeky grin. The front door opened and Kurt came home, looking exhausted. "Hey, stay quiet please," Rachel told him and he looked over at the couch. He craned his neck around and saw a very tired looking Marley sleeping on a very depressed looking Santana.

"Maybe the Mommy needs a nap too," he said.

"Maybe Papa would like a foot up his ass," Santana growled.

"Alright, that's enough. You," Rachel said turning to Kurt. "You leave them alone. Come with me into the kitchen, so I can pick your brain about dinner ideas, and you," she said looking at Santana. "Rest up and know that you are a very wonderful Mommy for Marley. End of discussion," she told her kindly and dragged Kurt out of the room.

"What did I miss?" he asked her.

* * *

Santana kept Marley against her, absent-mindedly combing her fingers through Marley's hair, keeping the younger girl calm and relaxed as she read over the blue folder. She was missing something, she knew she was. "Come on, jump out at me, something has to be here," she said.

She was vaguely aware of Marley moving beneath her, but she was determined to just keep reading. "Mommy's right here baby, you do whatever you want, and if you need me you just squeeze my hand. I'm only reading something," she said not even looking at her but continuing to pet her hair.

Marley moved a little bit, seemingly getting comfortable, but in reality she was trying to gauge Santana's sincerity and see if she was focused on her. Sometimes Santana would let her be and she needed this to be one of those times. When she woke up, she saw the pacifier in her own hand and she tried to remember if she had used it or somehow asked to use it. She thought about it a few more minutes and then with a very deep breath, she inched it slowly into her mouth, sucking on it gently. She had to admit that it was helping her calm down. The first ten seconds were fine, but when she saw Santana's arm reach over her to do something, she went into panic mode and let the pacifier fall out of her mouth, her breathing going ragged again.

"Shhh, Mommy's here baby, you're safe. You rest as long as you need to my love," she told her and kissed the top of her head and went back to reading. Marley wasn't able to relax right away though and she carefully ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth, wincing when she pressed against the sores. With a great deal of courage and a quick burst of confidence she opened her jaw and got the pacifier back into her mouth, sucking furiously at first and then calming down. "You okay love?" Santana asked looking down and Marley immediately spit out the pacifier. She pushed it away so hard that it started to topple off Santana's lap and Santana quickly caught it. "How about juice, is that okay?" Santana asked her kindly, putting the pacifier back in Marley's hand. "Hey Rachel can I get some of Marley's fruit punch please?" she called out.

Marley didn't budge and Santana looked at Rachel as she walked over with the glass of juice, their eyes catching and then Santana moved her eyes to her palm where Rachel saw the pacifier. "Did you want some juice baby?" Santana asked her and again Marley didn't move. "Okay, here's what we do. Mama Rae will leave the juice here and you can rest on me as long as you need to," she said and Marley didn't move. The pacifier was still in her hand, but she wasn't going to fuss with it. Not in front of people, although they didn't seem to care too much that she was or wasn't using it. That much she had focused in on.

Rachel stood up and then knelt in front of the two girls, rubbing Marley's back and she spoke softly. "Marley baby, let me know when you're hungry okay? You barely had any of your snack and I don't want you getting dehydrated or low on energy. You get muscle cramps that way," Rachel told her kindly, gave her a kiss and left them alone again.

"What was that all about?" Kurt asked Rachel in a hushed whisper once she returned to the kitchen. She gave him a look of curiosity and he rolled his eyes. "Maybe it's some weird mother thing, but you and Santana just had an entire conversation with your eyes and there was something she wanted you to notice, what's going on?" he asked.

"She used her pacifier."

"She used it?" Kurt asked with a happy smile.

"Yes, well I think she did, but if I'm taking my cues right, we don't mention it," Rachel hissed at him.

"You're okay baby, you keep resting for as long as you need, Mommy isn't going anywhere," Santana said kindly. Kurt heard Marley's erratic breathing all the way in the kitchen and he said a silent prayer for her to take the pacifier. Obviously it worked the first time.

"Wait, did she fall asleep with it?" he whispered.

"No, she cried herself to sleep."

"So she used it when she woke up?" he asked and Rachel nodded and then shrugged. She wasn't completely sure.

"Mommy," a small voice said.

"What's up baby?" Santana asked putting the folder on the coffee table and before Marley could say any more Marley leaned over and threw up. Santana wrinkled her face but didn't say anything. She carefully got her out of the position she was in, away from whatever vomit was on Santana and Marley burst into hysterical sobs. "Help please," Santana called and both Kurt and Rachel went to help. Kurt showed up with a roll of paper towels and Rachel and Santana guided Marley into the kitchen, where she threw up twice more in the sink. "She's burning up," Santana said sadly.

"Of course she is, you'd be burning up too if you'd been throwing up," Rachel said. "Marley baby, Mama Rae is going to rub your tummy, very gently, just like we did with the lotion. It's just to settle it," she said. Marley was crying so hard, that she didn't pay any attention to Rachel. She didn't know where she was, or what was going on. She just felt terrible. "San, I'm singing okay?" Rachel asked and Santana nodded, wetting a small cloth so that she could wipe down Marley's face. "When the rain is blowing in your face," Rachel started to sing and eventually her voice broke through Marley's cries and Marley started to calm down. "There's my sweet girl," Rachel smiled as she saw Marley start to come out of her stupor. "Look baby, look at Mommy," she said pointing her to look toward Santana.

"Hi baby," Santana said and Marley saw unshed tears in her eyes.

Marley was afraid she'd done something wrong, obviously she'd made Santana cry. This was it, this was where they were going to get rid of her. Marley burst into further tears and Santana sighed. "Shhh, you're okay, you're okay. I just got scared. Despite what some people think, I do have feelings, I do cry," Santana told her with a smile, wiping her away her tears.

"Mommy is just very sad baby," Rachel said kindly. "See, Mommy loves you so much, and when you got sick just now, she got scared and was afraid there was something wrong," Rachel said and Santana nodded.

"You are my big brave wonderful baby girl Marley," Santana told her. Marley nodded and looked down at the sink, seeing her own vomit in there and then she looked to Santana for some sort of confirmation. "You're okay, just got sick. You were doing very well and then you were lying on my chest and then got sick. I don't know what caused it. Did you eat anything funny tasting?" Santana asked her kindly, brushing her hair back and petting her forehead. Her face was flushed, but not as warm as before. "Do you want to sit back down now? We can go sit and cuddle if you like," she said.

"Well once Mommy gets changed," Rachel smiled. "Come on baby. You come sit with Mama Rae and Papa and we'll order in take out and watch a movie all together on the couch okay?" she asked.

"Take out?" Santana asked rinsing off the bottom of her shirt and washing the sink as well.

"Hold my shoulders sweetheart," Rachel said to Marley, helping her into position. "Yes, it's my night to cook. I decided on take out," she said. "Mainly because I don't know what else to cook," she laughed leading Marley to the couch where Kurt was waiting with Teddy Bear and the pacifier was on the coffee table. Marley went stiff, afraid they were going to make her use it and tears sprung to her eyes.

"Mommy," she cried out softly.

"As soon as she's done sweetheart, she just has to change tops," Rachel said kindly helping Marley to sit on the couch.

"MOMMY!" Marley screamed.

"I'm right here honey, I promise, I'm just changing!" Santana called from the other room, and as soon as she emerged, Marley went to spring forward, however she didn't have a lot of stability in her core yet so she toppled onto her side. She moved too fast for her own body and the pain exploded through every nerve ending. Kurt and Rachel watched with wide eyes and Marley laid between them, screaming bloody murder. "Alright, that's enough," Santana said. Her voice was completely calm, but she was in full Mistress Mode, Kurt was in awe.

She sat down on the couch, pulled Marley tight to her body. "No more screaming Marley," she told her strongly, and squeezed her just a little bit tighter.

"Mommy," she cried, gasping for breath.

"Yes, Mommy's here and you're safe, but no more screaming," she told her. "Look at me Marley, do you know my name?" she asked and Marley nodded. "Say it quitely," she told her kindly, rubbing her back, their foreheads now gently pressed together.

"Mommy," she said softly.

"Good girl, and who else is here?" she asked.

"Mama ah Papa," she said softly.

"Yes my love, very good. Now, are you still in pain? I saw that face, I know that face," she told her. Marley nodded slowly. "Okay, so we have to breathe and calm down to get rid of the pain, just like you do with Mr. Joe. Just breathe in and out my love, you know how to do that," Santana coached. It took some time but then she was calm and Santana smiled. "Very good my sweet girl, now, I have a few questions, do you think you're ready?" Santana asked and with some hesitation Marley nodded. "We will go slow, I will always go slow with you. I want you to understand everything around you," she said.

Rachel and Kurt watched in awe as Santana took over the situation with such authority and grace and Rachel marveled at how Santana could even possibly think she was failing Marley in any way at all. "Alright baby girl. First. You woke up on my chest, did that scare you or make you feel safe?" she asked holding up two fingers. Marley grabbed the second finger. "You also woke up with something in your hand, do you know what that was?" Marley nodded. "Will you say it for me?"

Marley thought for a moment, little tears trickling down her cheeks. "Pa-fy-ah," she hiccupped. This was Mommy Santana. Marley was willing to try for her.

"Very good, and you know what you said a word that has been scaring you for a while and nothing happened did it?" she asked and Marley looked at her questioningly. "No one laughed, or yelled, or teased you, or told you to stop, or called you names. The floor didn't open up and swallow us all to the ground. Nothing bad is going to happen to you if you choose to use your pacifier. Mama Rae, and Papa, and I fully support you, if you feel that you need to use it," Santana said.

Marley still looked scared and Santana took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She opened them up again and gave Marley a gentle kiss to her ckeek. "Marley baby, you look terrified, and I don't want you to be afraid of me, or this house, or what goes on here," she said kindly. Marley leaned in and rested her head on Santana's shoulder, wrapping her arms tightly around Santana and sighed softly.

"I think she's okay with everything," Kurt told Santana softly and the buzzer rang startling the tender moment. "That's dinner, I'll get it," he told her.

"I ordered chinese food. Sesame Chicken and Rice for Marley," Rachel smiled as she leaned in and kissed her forehead. "And I got double for Marley's Mommy," Rachel giggled and Santana rolled her eyes.

"Mama Rae thinks she's cute," Santana said and Rachel nodded proudly. "She isn't," Santana said simply.

"Mommy thinks she's fresh, and she definitely is," Rachel said rolling her eyes. "Marley love, which would you like with dinner, juice or something else?" she asked her. Marley touched her first finger and Rachel nodded. "You're so special and so brave Marley, never forget that," she told her.

* * *

The four of them had eaten dinner on the couch and Marley let all of them take turns feeding her. Santana had been right, no one laughed, or teased, or did anything to make Marley feel like she was less important than she actually was. After an hour they finished and Marley sat on the floor next to Santana playing with a toy piano. She liked it because of the lights and the fact that it actually played music. Joe had given it to her a while ago.

_"Remember my counting cups Marley? Well this is almost like that. It looks like a baby toy, I know, but for you it isn't. Your hands are much better, due to all the lotion that your Mommy has been giving you. So now we have to get them moving again. I heard somewhere along the line that you like music. So this is a little toy that will let you do that. I had to get it small to start with because this hospital only has so much space," he explained and Marley nodded her understanding. "I know your Mommy sings, maybe she plays too, or she can play it with you. Maybe you can teach her," he suggested._

"Okay baby girl, teach me now," Satana said and Marley smiled. She tapped one key twice, then a second, then a third and then a fourth. It carried on until she tapped 8 keys twice each and Santana smiled. She knew the song, but it was slow now and she was so proud of Marley. "Help me baby, you do it first, one at a time, then I will follow," she said and Marley nodded. One key twice. Santana repeated. This carried on for an hour before Marley started to yawn and then snuggled closer into Santana's side. "How about we stop playing now and watch a movie?" she asked.

Marley shook her head. She didn't want to. Movies with everyone were fun, but Marley knew she would fall asleep and falling asleep meant her dreams would come to life. She was afraid of the nightmares that would haunt her tonight. Everything she feared would come back to haunt her. Just thinking about it made her want to be sick and now her stomach was still digesting, so if she threw up, it was going to hurt a lot. She turned into Santana and started to cry softly.

"Oh baby," Santana sighed and she gathered her into her arms, keeping her close, rocking gently, humming softly to help Marley settle down. "Alright my love, bed time for us," Santana said kindly and she carefully stood up, brought Marley with her and with help from Kurt and Rachel they went into the bedroom. Santana went in and Rachel and Kurt left. Santana shut the door and Marley burst into tears all over again.

* * *

Kurt had been staring at the bedroom door for the past hour. He felt Rachel slide in next to him and she frowned. "You know, if you stare any harder I think you might actually get a migraine, and you'll need glasses," she told him softly.

"She's been in there for two hours and for the past twenty minutes it's been nothing but dead silence. Do you think she killed her? Because the last thing I heard was a scream and then nothing," he said softly.

"Santana is all bark and only semi bite. She wouldn't murder Marley. She's probably just staying with her until she's calm," she suggested.

"I don't like it. It's too quiet."

Rachel got a smile on her face and leaned forward picking up the remote. "So turn on some noise," she said kindly and the two of them cuddled on the couch to watch Funny Girl which was miraculously on television that night.

"Hey keep it down please, she's finally sleeping," Santana said emerging from the bedroom.

"She lives!" Rachel smiled shouting as softly and excitedly as possible.

"You didn't kill her, did you?" Kurt asked bluntly as Santana sat next to him.

"Yes, I did, she's in there, right now, soaking in her own blood," Santana sighed.

"Poor Mommy Tana," Rachel said in a mock pout.

"Shut it dwarf," she snapped quietly.

Rachel ignored that comment and continued speaking. "You want tea?" she asked. "We have mint and chamomile," she said.

"Oooh, I want," Kurt said and Rachel nodded and then looked at Santana. "It'll help your nerves," she offered.

"Yeah, okay fine," she said and she sat on the couch quietly, closing her eyes and she felt a hand slip into hers. "I need more than that," she said.

"This is all I can give you, you're not interested in my parts," he said with a small laugh.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello Everyone!**

**I hope you're all doing well. Firstly, thank you for all the reviews for the previous chapter, I'm glad you are all enjoying the story.**

**Warnings for this chapter - there is a medium level of squick factor. Vomit is kind of big in the first few paragraphs, but not as graphic as it could have been. Also, still in the this chapter, pacifiers, trust issues, and flashbacks to Terri. **

**I am still very grateful to Nayfan, UnholyUnderBoob, & Beaner008 for their inspiration.**

**Again if there are any questions that anyone has, please feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to answer your questions. Thanks again for reading.**

**Wishing you all well, :)**

* * *

Marley woke up in the dark. She blinked her eyes a few times and realized it was around three in the morning when her eyes settled on the red glowing numbers of the clock near by. She was starting to have a muscle cramp and her core was still hurting from when she had thrown up earlier. She couldn't wake up Santana though. That wouldn't work. She'd be thrown out. Marley didn't want to put her out anymore, but the pain was starting to increase and she let out a muffled cry and her bowels released. She couldn't control anything and she realized that she couldn't even distinguish the difference in pain. It was no longer liquid fire. Her stomach muscles had healed themselves, but now she messed herself like a true baby.

She laid in her mess and heard a voice in her head. She shut her eyes to the darkened room and she tried to push the voice away, but it wouldn't go. It was screaming at her. She didn't know how to stop it either. She didn't want to lay there and take it anymore, she just wanted the voice to stop.

_"You worthless little shit, look at you, look at this mess. No wonder you couldn't get anyone else to take you in. You're too much work. You're too sloppy and one of the most ungrateful little bitches, I've ever met," Terri yelled. "Don't worry sweet cheeks," she said pinching her cheeks hard. "I met a great man and he's going to make sure that we treat you like the little baby slut you are," Terri said._

Marley burst into hysterical sobs, trying so hard to stay quiet. It was just too much muscular control though. She lost her balance, tipped onto her back, and started to vomit, gagging as it rose in her throat. All the noise and movement woke Santana and she very quickly and carefully turned Marley onto her stomach, keeping her in an all four position. "RACHEL!" she yelled and reached up to bang on their adjoining wall. She knew the noise was probably too much for Marley to handle, but right now Marley had to be taken care of her and fear of noises she wasn't expecting, had to be put on the back burner.

Rachel came into the room and tiredly looked at what was going on. "What do you need?" she yawned.

"Above all, a bath," she said.

"We're going to need Kurt to help," Rachel said and Santana shot her a glare. "The bathroom is on the other side of the house," she continued and they both winced when Marley screamed.

"Hurry please," Santana said and she carefully got Marley to her feet and Marley began screaming in pain. "I'm so sorry baby, you're okay, Mommy's here, it's okay. Mommy's here, you're safe baby," she assured her but all Marley felt was pain. Santana held Marley close and tried to guide Marley's head to her shoulder. She wanted to give her something that was familiar, since she was clearly lost in her head. Marley was struggling though, not sure of where she was, or what was going on.

Kurt and Rachel returned moments later and Kurt looked at Santana. "Move over please," he said and she glared at him. "I didn't say let her go, I said move over," he said simply. "I need you to shift to the side, so I can lift her," he continued and Santana looked a bit confused. "Santana it is very early or very late, please don't argue," he sighed. She gave in, shifted slightly and he slipped in closer to Marley and lifted her into his arms, causing her to scream.

"Don't hurt her!" Santana snapped protectively.

"You're standing right there!" Kurt snapped back, just as protectively. "All I did was lift her up, she's just lost and confused," Kurt said and he started to walk out of the room.

"How are you doing this and for the love of God be careful and don't drop her," Rachel said walking nervously behind him, keeping her hand on his lower back, as if that was going to help somehow.

Santana went ahead and got the water warm before Marley even showed up. They walked in and she started barking orders. "NO!" Rachel said quickly. "We're helping, and we'll do what you say, but you have to calm down! It's too early for two of you to be having a tantrum and a power trip," she said sternly and Santana calmed down. They got Marley cleaned up and then put her in the bath. Santana had stripped down quickly and got in before her, letting them put Marley in her lap. Santana stayed in her bra and panties, and Marley stayed in her bra. They knew she wasn't really paying attention, but they wanted to give her some sense of modesty, and Santana wasn't ready to start stripping completely in front of Kurt. Marley sat as still as possible, hiccuping and still freaking out when Kurt and Rachel left the room. Her cries and whimpers had only grown when Rachel returned with a pacifier and sat on the edge of the tub, looking down at Marley and Santana.

"Do not force her!"

"_WE_ don't believe in that, so stop barking at me. I agree, forcing her won't do any good, but she needs comfort and for some amount of seconds earlier, it worked, well we think it did, so we're going to get it to work again. Didn't you tell her, you were going to force her to do things, if we knew it was going to help her?" and Santana sighed. "This is just like that Santana, you have to force a little bit. You forcing her, did not cause this," Rachel said sweeping her arms in a circle to indicate the current circumstances. "Terri torturing her and her body still healing caused this," Rachel said waving her arms again and Marley flinched.

"Stop that, she doesn't like movements like that," Santana scolded.

Rachel sighed and got down next to the tub. "Do you trust me?" she asked Santana and with a cautious look, Santana nodded. "Look at me, I would never hurt your, excuse me _our_ baby," Rachel said and Santana gave a slight smile before nodding her consent. Rachel put her hand out and pet Marley's cheek and she started to squeal, trying to get away. "Look at Mama Rae, Marley, come on baby, focus in and look at me," she coaxed, using a sweet soft voice and waiting for Marley to come out of her head. Marley turned and Rachel very carefully and very gently kept her hand on Marley's cheek. Sensory was huge for Marley, because right now, that was all she had, and if Rachel could pull her out of her head by touch, then they could start on getting her to calm down.

The water was warm, but goosebumps were on her skin now and her teeth were starting to chatter, indicating she was cold. "Look at Mama my love," Rachel coaxed again. "Mama has her hand on your cheek, no one else. Mama is in front of you and Mommy is seated behind you, keeping you safe in her arms, because Mommy is very safe and loves her Marley very much," Rachel said and Marley let out a cry of pain.

"I'm not hurting her Santana," Rachel said quickly.

"I know, she's not focused, and that cry is good, she'll be with us soon," Santana said calmly, trying not to cry herself.

Rachel smiled at Santana and took her friend's hand and then focused back in on Marley, talking to her and trying to get her to focus in as well. "I know baby, shhh, you're okay. Mommy's right behind you and Mama is right in front of you, and Papa's here too, he's waiting for you on the couch, getting it all warm and snuggly for us," she said. Marley wasn't focused at all though, so Rachel went to a familiar go to when she saw Marley's chest, struggling to rise and fall. "There were nights when the wind was so cold, that my body froze in bed, if I just listened to it right outside the window, there were days when the wind was so cruel, that all my tears turned to dust, and I just knew my eyes were drying up for ever," Rachel sang. She kept the pace extra slow, making it sound more like a lullaby and eventually Marley started to come out of her stupor, feeling completely drained and beyond exhausted.

"Mama," she whimpered.

"There's my baby girl," Rachel smiled. "Mommy's holding you baby, and Mama's right here, it's my hand on your cheek. You are so safe, and we know you hurt, so we're going to get you and Mommy all dried up, and into clean clothes and then we're having a big sleepover party in the living room. Papa is setting it all up," she told her.

"Mommy!" Marley wailed, feeling embarrassed, and afraid.

"Mommy's here honey, it's okay," Santana said dropping little kisses to her temple and resting her chin on Marley's shoulder, wrapping her arms a little tighter around Marley's waist. "I think Mama has a good idea baby. We'll get you and Mommy dried and dressed and into bed, so we can sleep some more," Santana said.

"Marley honey, look at Mama please," Rachel told her gently and Marley pushed her body into Santana, but focused in on Rachel and Rachel smiled. "Listen to me very carefully baby, do you know what this is?" she asked holding up the pacifier for Marley to see and Marley nodded, tears immediately pouring down her cheeks. "Shhh, it's alright love, this isn't a scary thing. Do you remember how you and Mommy talked about this earlier. This isn't the scary thing. This is tiny and does nothing, but maybe give Marley some comfort, which she definitely looks like she could use right now," Rachel said kindly. Marley shook her head no and whimpered.

"Slow down Rachel," Santana cautioned and Rachel controlled her facial features, not wanting to upset Marley any further.

"Okay, baby, okay, but I want you to think about something my love. Did the pacifier hurt you or did what Terri do to it hurt you? Do you know the difference? I know you do, because you're a very smart girl, but I also know that you're very scared and probably very tired and probably still in pain," Rachel said and to everyone's surprise Marley reached out and wrapped her hand carefully around the pacifier. "Yes baby, this is your pacifier. This is your reward for being a super good girl. This is what Mommy got you to help you calm down. So I want to ask you one more time baby and listen very carefully," Rachel said, not letting Marley have it just yet. "Did the pacifier hurt you?" she asked gently shaking her hand that held it, "Or did Terri do bad things to you with a pacifier because she was a very mean lady who took advantage of her control," Rachel said holding up her other hand. Marley cried and carefully took Rachel's empty hand.

"That's right baby," Santana encouraged. "The pacifier didn't do anything. Terri was a bully. Terri made it scary for you, but it's not the scary thing, what Terri did to you with it, that was the scary thing," Santana said and Marley continued to cry and then tried to put the pacifier in her mouth, but it kept falling out because all she wanted to do was cry. It splashed into the water and Rachel quickly fished it out.

"To be safe, Mama will get you another one, and we'll sterilize this one," Rachel said kindly. "I will help you and Mommy out of the tub, you'll both get dried and dressed and we'll go all lay down with Papa. One big cuddle party, okay?" she asked her and Marley nodded, continuing to cry. Rachel put the wet pacifier on the sink ledge and carefully helped the girls out of the tub, wrapping Marley in a towel and keeping her safe. Santana wrapped herself up and took Marley back against her. Marely's head instantly found her shoulder and she gasped and hiccupped trying to get her breath back under control.

"Quick," Santana whispered to Rachel and picked up the pacifier, handing it to her so it could be sterilized. Rachel dashed out of the room and then back in giving Santana one of the other pacifiers. "Marley baby, look at Mommy," she told her. Marley pulled back and looked pitifully at Santana. "You're breath is very ragged baby, breathe with me. Once you're calm, you can try your pacifier. I promise you if it doesn't help, you don't have to use it, but Mama Rae is right. This isn't the bad thing. This is the tiny little thing that was only bad because the bully was controlling it," Santana said gently, surprised her brain could function at this ridiculous hour of the day.

Marley got her breathing under control rather quickly and then opened her mouth, waiting for Santana to give her the pacifier. "No my love, you can do it yourself. You have to be ready," she told her kindly and put it in her hand. Marley put it in her mouth and started to breathe quickly. "Shhh, suck on it baby. The more you suck, the easier it will be. There's nothing on that. Mommy is very sure," she told her. Marley sucked briefly and then stopped and looked to Santana. "That was good baby, keep going sweetheart," she said kindly and Marley looked confused, wanting to be closer to Santana, wanting to rest her head on Santana's shoulder but thinking it wasn't going to be welcomed. "My tired baby girl, you're alright, as soon as we dress, back to bed for everyone," Santana said kindly.

It took some doing but the two girls joined Rachel and Kurt in the living room and Marley still had the pacifier in her mouth. "Are you better now Marley? Do you still hurt? Papa can whip up a shake very quickly for you," Kurt offered her and Marley pushed herself into Santana's body as they sat down on the pile of blankets Kurt had gathered. Santana shifted the two of them, so that Marley was cuddled and cradled in her lap and Marley made herself very small, but didn't seem to relax. Santana took it a step further and pulled Marley even closer, keeping her cradled against her.

"A shake sounds like a good idea," Santana said and she very slowly began to rock back and forth with Marley, keeping her tight against her and then gently petting her face with her free hand. "My beautiful girl," she told her softly over and over again and Marley eventually let her head fall on Santana's shoulder, keeping the pacifier in her mouth. She whimpered and shook as the blender sounded, but soft soothing murmurs from Santana put a quick stop to it.

Kurt brought the shake over to Marley with a straw. "Chocolate, peanut butter, my love," he told her putting his finger under the pacifier ring and tugged gently. She let her mouth fall open and he took out the pacifier to put the straw into her mouth instead. She sucked softly on the straw and felt the chill of the shake flood her mouth and it tasted good. At this point, she knew she was safe, she knew the arms holding her, and she was absolutely exhausted. Her eyes remained closed. Santana had moved to brace her back against the couch and Rachel was at her side. She was the one kissing Marley's forehead at the moment and then went to petting her hair. After a few sips, Marley let go of the straw and let it fall from her mouth. "Such a good girl Marley," he praised and Marley's eyes began to grow heavier. She wanted to fight sleep. Sleep meant dreams, and dreams meant night mares. All her thinking caused her breathing to go ragged again.

Santana shifted Marley carefully and now Marley was chest to chest with Santana, their foreheads gently pressed together. "Close your eyes my love. Mommy has you, and she's not letting go. This is your pacifier," she said putting it in Marley's hand. "It's right here baby, it's in your hand, and you're in control, no one else controls the pacifier but Marley," Santana told her keeping her close. "Shhh breathe with Mommy," Santana said going through the breathing sequences she knew helped Marley. Once she was calmer, Santana adjusted Marley. She put her into a cradle position and Marley's head rested gently on Santana's shoulder. "My sweet baby girl, I am so proud of you. You're doing much better now, and you had some of your shake. Right now, you need to hang on to your pacifier, so that if you want to use it you can. We're also going to all lay down baby. Everyone. Mommy, Marley, Mama Rae and Papa," Santana told her gently and very carefully everyone laid down. "Mama's behind you baby. Papa's behind me. We're all safe and snuggled in together. We're just going to lie here and try to get some rest okay?" she said. Marley put her pacifier to her lips and seemed to think about it, almost looking for approval. Santana wanted to keep quiet but she knew she had to say something otherwise Marley was going to hesitate all over again. "If you want it baby, I want you to take it. You were sucking on it before and you started to get very sleepy, that's a good thing," Santana encouraged. Marley pushed it into her mouth and pressed her body into Santana.

"Sleep my dear family," Kurt said kissing everyone quickly and then lying down to go to sleep himself.

* * *

It had been two weeks now and Marley had learned that her pacifiers actually helped her a great deal. Her mouth was healing beautifully and when April came for speech lessons, she would praise Marley about how well she was taking care of herself. She was doing better in physical therapy as well. She'd gained some strength in her arms and could now hold herself up, just over the small box that Joe kept under her belly for extra support. He also kept a soft matt beneath her hands and knees to avoid stress and pressure to those sensitive areas.

Today, they were practicing her "swimming" techniques as Kurt called them and Marley was getting frustrated. It was very simple. She had to strengthen her back and her core more than anything else, so Joe would have her on all fours over a box. She was then to raise her right arm and left leg to shoulder and hip height respectively. Doing this also tested her balance, and even though the box was under her, she still thought she was going to fall off. She'd grunt and groan and look angrily at Joe and Kurt had to force himself not to laugh. The more time Marley spent with Santana, the more of her personality, she took on. As Marley worked with Joe and Kurt in the living room, Santana was seated at the kitchen table, going over emails on her laptop. A few clients had emailed her to design punishments and sessions for them at the club, and she was trying to come up with the proper response, but all she could think about was her little girl and how she had to protect and guard herself so she didn't do to her clients what was done to Marley.

With a very deep sigh, not liking that she had to do this at all, she composed a letter to Miss Beth.

"Dear Mistress,

I have two clients waiting for session design and three waiting for punishment. I can't do this. I think that I have spent too much time in "baby world" and I hate calling it that. Marley is doing well, but she's across from me now, going through physical therapy, and all I can think about it how I can't do to anyone what was done to her. I am doing my best to be strong and brave and put the client first, so I'm asking for help. Please help me get to back to being the Mistress my clients are waiting for.

Sincerely,

Santana."

She looked into the other room and frowned when she saw Marley starting to fight against Joe. She got up and walked across the apartment. "Marley, what's wrong?" she asked.

"No ike," she said sadly, frowning at her own lisp.

Santana knelt in front of her and pet her face gently. "The L's are coming baby, you have to be patient and why don't you like this?" Santana asked her and Kurt still marveled at her motherly tone.

"Faww down," Marley pouted at her.

"You fell down?" she asked her and Marley shook her head no. "You're afraid you're going to fall down?" Santana asked and Marley nodded. "Well baby, you might, I'm not going to lie, but I don't think Mr. Joe would let you fall down on purpose. Mommy would be very angry if he even thought about doing that to you," Santana said. "And Papa is here too, you know Papa loves you and wants you to succeed at your therapies," Santana explained. Marley nodded and tears sprang to her eyes. "You're doing well baby, it's okay to be scared," Santana assured her and stayed in front of her, petting her face and letting her have her little melt down.

Marley finished her melt down and then looked over at Joe. "Kay, I tie," she told Joe softly.

"Good girl," Santana praised. "You keep working with Papa and Mr. Joe. I have one more thing to take care of and then I will come back to you," she told her.

"Wh'eh Mama?" she asked.

"Mama is at an audition, she'll be home later tonight," Santana said and Marley looked to Kurt, needing him to stay close.

"I'm not going anywhere baby," he smiled at her, "I don't even have to work tonight," he said.

She gave him a smile and then reached for his hand. He moved in closer to her and let her hold his hand for a while, as she gathered her courage. Santana gave her a kiss to her temple and went back to her computer, feeling as though she needed to write a letter to Susan as well. Marley was improving and she thought the babysitting offer might be a good idea now, but it would have to be done slowly. Susan would have to be introduced little by little and Santana wanted to go over all of that before she agreed to anything.

Joe smiled and began to explain everything to Marley. "Okay Marley, so this is your support box right? Now we've been working on how to keep you up on all fours with the box, so the next step is to take the box away.

"No," Marley said.

"Do you want to learn to crawl with a box under your stomach all the time?" Joe asked and she nodded emphatically. That was fine with her. She wanted the extra support and nothing was going to change her mind. "I said taking it away was the next step but like everything else we've done so far, we've gone slowly haven't we? We do things little by little, because that is what gives you the most success, hasn't it?" Joe asked her and she pouted but nodded. "Well this is no different," he told her and held up a box that was three quarters the size of what she was on.

"NO!" she shouted at him.

"Marley Rose, one more outburst and you can sit in time out!" Santana called into her.

Marley frowned and looked to Kurt for help. "No baby. You heard Mommy. Time out if you have another outburst," Kurt said backing Santana up. He didn't like that Marley was testing her limits now. She wanted to get away with begin rude or greedy or lazy at times, but Santana had none of it. Not only had Santana introduced praise and reward, but now that communication was a much more verbal two way street, she also introduced punishments. Nothing was ever too much. Santana made Marley sit in time out for any amount of time, no longer than ten minutes and no less than two, depending on the "crime" that had been committed.

"No ike," she cried.

"Marley tell me what you like more, having your family help you walk around the house, or do you want to be able to eventually walk on your own?" Joe asked her.

"Papa," Marley whined at him. Kurt sighed and took pity on her. She'd been working for an hour now, and hadn't complained until just recently.

"Does she have any other exercises she can do today instead?" Kurt tried.

"KURT!" Santana yelled from the other room and he rolled his eyes.

He leaned into Marley and kissed her temple, whispering in her ear. "Mommy has gigantic ears," he whispered to her. "Stay here sweetheart, keep working," he said and left the room. "You bellowed?" he asked her taking a seat at the other side of the table.

"You can't undermine Joe in front of her. You can't make her think it's okay for her to not do an exercise he thinks she's ready for," Santana scolded, keeping her voice soft. "Why do you think I'm not in there?" she asked him.

"You're writing to your club. You told us that," he pointed out. She scowled at him and he sighed, putting his hands up in defense. "Alright, I'm sorry, but she looks so upset and so defeated, I just thought if we changed exercises, it might help her to be better able to handle the more difficult stuff," he said and she raised an eyebrow at him. "She worked and worked and worked, and got better, and I know she still has a long way to go and I know it's going to be tough for her, but I thought if we could show her what she couldn't do before and can do now, it might motivate her a little more," he explained further.

"That makes sense, and I'll talk to Joe, but he still gets to call the shots. And I'm out here, so I don't do what you just did!" she added softly and quickly.

"Big mush," Kurt laughed and he stood up and started to fix some tea for everyone as well as a shake for Marley.

In the other room, Marley was looking at Joe with anger in her eyes. She wanted to stop, she was tired and done. "Marley you're doing very well, if you just let me shift you a little bit, we'll work from the new height. It's no shorter in length or width. The box is the same size, just not as tall," Joe said.

"Why?" she demanded.

"Marley!" Santana warned from the other room and Marley rolled her eyes while Joe tried to conceal his laughter.

"I'm just progressing you Marley. If the box is shorter in height, then you can build more core strength when you press up and hold. Right now the box is doing most of the work and in the beginning that was fine, but I want you to do a little more of the work, so you can get better. Your core and your lower abs need to be stronger, that's what's going to help you learn to walk on your own," he said. "If you can push yourself up a little then I can switch out the boxes and you'll see it won't be so bad," he tried.

"MOMMY!" Marley cried out. She needed Santana and she didn't want to do what Joe had been telling her was coming next. She was tired and any more exercises, were just not in her game plan right now. Unfortunately for her, Joe had another hour with her and he was going to get her to do something, whether she liked it or not.

"Stop screaming love, I'm here," Santana said kindly.

"Done Mommy," Marley said.

"All done? Are you sure?" Santana asked. Marley nodded and Santana looked over at Joe who shook his head. "Marley, Mr. Joe says you're not done," Santana told her and Marley pouted.

"No, done Mommy," she said politely.

"You have an hour left baby," she told her.

"No, done Mommy, aww done," she said tears starting already. Santana knew a tired little girl when she saw one. She'd been learning well over the past couple of months.

"I will sit with you my sweet girl, and let you finish, but Mr. Joe has time left with you and you need to do as he says, so we get you better," Santana told her.

"No, faww down, no ay-ff, no ay-ff. No ike, no mo, aww done," Marley said having her tantrum and Santana sighed and looked at Joe, waiting for him to tell her what he wanted done most.

"If she can lay on her back we can work on lower core with bridges," he told her and she nodded.

"Come on love, let's get off the box and lay down on your back," Santana said.

"No, done Mommy, aww done," Marley complained and she started to cry softly.

"Alright baby, alright, come here," Santana said and she pulled Marley into her lap and cuddled her close. "I know you're tired baby, but you have an hour left. When you're all done, you get to tell Mommy what you want," Santana said, "but we have to complete the hour.

"No, done Mommy," she whimpered.

"You aren't my love, you have time left and you can sit here and fight me all you want, but when you're done fighting, you will still put in your hour," Santana told her and Marley started to cry. "I'll stay with you for that hour baby girl, but you have to do your exercises," Santana said and Marley cried against her for a little bit. "You let Mommy know when you're calm angel," she said.

It took some time, but Marley calmed down and Joe had her do her bridges. They were much harder than the very first time though. She used to just have to lift her hips. Now she had to squeeze a ball between her knees, lift her hips, keep the ball squeezed tight, and hold it for three full seconds and Joe wanted thirty repetitions of this exercise.

What should have been a two minute exercise took ten. Marley moved slower than most of Joe's patients, because she was still doing a lot of healing. His exercises were designed to help her and they definitely did, but due to all the physical damage Terri had caused, Marley just moved at a slower rate.

Joe let her have a five minute break and then asked her to do it again. "Nooo," Marley cried and she looked to Santana. "Mommy no, no mo, aww done," she cried.

"Shhh, calm down baby. I know you're in pain, I can see it, but this is a very different pain than you were used to. Mr. Joe isn't asking you to do this to be cruel. He doesn't want you to be in pain. His job is to get you better," Santana said, gently guiding Marley through the exercise as she explained to her what was going on. "Mr. Joe wants you to do these over and over so we get you better faster. Do you know what a strong core can do for you?" she asked and Marley whimpered and worked with Santana, doing some of the work herself, rather than letting Santana do it all for her. "A stronger core means no more tipping over to the left when you sit down, and pretty soon you'll know the difference between certain pains that you have. The sooner you do that, the sooner you can get out of your diapers," she told her and Marley seemed intrigued by that. The baby world was sometimes very fun, and very loving, but diapers were not what she wanted, she never had. Terri had forced it upon her and now she was stuck with them until she could retrain herself.

"You're doing great Marley, that was a great set. Take another five minutes and then just one more set and you'll be done for the day," Joe told her standing back and watching, taking notes when necessary, keeping count of each rep, and studying Marley's body to assess how she was progressing.

"Done Mommy," Marley whimpered.

"Almost my love, yes, almost all done," Santana told her.

She finished the last rep of her third set, in tears, and tried to crawl into Santana's lap, but she fell down on her way, flat on her belly and pain shot through to her feet. "Mommy," she cried. Santana gathered her close and nuzzled her gently. Marley's head immediately went to Santana's shoulder and she whimpered quietly.

"You're alright my love," she said gathering her closer. "Listen baby, Papa made a shake for you, and I have grilled turkey sandwich with spinach, lettuce, and tomatoes, in case you want more than just a shake," Santana told her.

"Done Mommy," she said softly.

"Oh my sweet girl," Santana said kindly. "Come on, one last move to the couch. You can eat and drink there," she told her. "Mommy will stand up and then we'll get you up and move you over, okay?" she asked Marley nodded, but whimpered. She didn't want to do anything.

Santana carefully moved her into other room and she let out a few cries along the way and Santana slowed down, so she could get her body under control. She sat her on the couch and Marley immediately leaned to her left and laid down, letting out a long yawn. "Mommy," she said tiredly.

"Yes baby?"

"Eh-ee," she said softly.

"Please," Santana coached. She made sure that Marley was polite.

"Pee," Marley said closing her eyes.

Santana smiled and nodded her approval before she went to get Teddy Bear, a warmer blanket since winter was coming in faster than they wanted, and just in case, one of the pacifiers so Marley could use it if she wanted it. She got her settled, stayed with her for a few moments and pet her face gently. "You can rest my sweet girl, but as soon as you wake up, I want you to eat something," Santana told her. Marley simply yawned and pushed her cheek gently into Santana's hand and started to drift off to sleep.

Santana stood up and walked into the kitchen, wrapping the sandwich in some foil and then put it in the fridge and when she turned around she saw Kurt staring at her. "What?" she asked him.

"You, that's what?" he said.

"What does that mean?" she asked trying to figure out what he was thinking. Before he could answer, her phone rang.

"You answer your phone, and I'll sit with Marley," Kurt said and sort of floated out of the kitchen and went to sit with Marley who was now curled up under her blanket, in a tight ball, and seemed to be sleeping peacefully. "You're going to be in pain later my sweet girl," he said softly and quietly.

"This is Santana," she said answering her phone.

"Santana my love, it's Miss Beth, do you have a few moments or does Marley need your attention?" she asked.

"No, I have some time, thank you for calling me," she said.

"Of course my love. Now you have concerns, talk to me about them please," Beth requested. Santana babbled out her concerns, being sure to hit each point carefully and Beth smiled. "It's all very genuine my love, and I can understand that, but you have to remember two things. First of all, the people who come here want the pain and humiliation they ask for. It excites them, and gives them that warm fuzzy feeling, so to speak," Beth said. "The second thing is, I do know that you my love have been in quote unquote baby world for a good deal of time. I would never let you come back without doing a few training days, so you can have a refresher. Santana you are a wonderful Mistress, one of the best this club has ever seen, but even I don't come back from vacation without doing some refresher courses," Beth assured her.

"Thank you Miss," Santana said feeling a weight lift off her shoulders.

"Is there anything else?"

"Miss Susan said she would help babysit, but I don't know how to even start with that. I think that I would like to just start with my refresher courses and have Kurt and Rachel stay with her. People she absolutely knows, and she's not ready to leave the house yet. She's still working on crawling," Santana said.

"You were the best thing that could have ever happened to this club and that little girl Santana and if you ever doubt that, I'm going to take you over my knee and give you something to remember every time you sit down," Beth told her eliciting a giggle from the young Mistress. "Perhaps I'll spank you anyway, I miss doing that," Beth said in a slightly seductive tone and Santana blushed. "You work it out with your room mates my love, then you call Nicole and tell her when you'll be joining for a refresher course," Beth said and after a quick, polite exchange, the two ladies disconnected.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone, **

**Happy Tuesday! I don't know why I feel like posting, but I do, so here you go. I hope you all enjoy your bonus chapter this week. :)**

**As always, major thanks to NayaFan, UnholyUnderBoob, & Beaner008 for all of their inspiration and support.**

**Warnings for this chapter: trust issues(that's going to be in every chapter pretty much for the rest of the story, so just be warned) & Marley gets a time out, which triggers some other things. There is some baby talk in this, but not enough to make any sense.**

**The squick factor in this chapter is actually zero, but just know that within the next four or so chapters, it's going to escalate to about a 10. I will give warnings.**

**Hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

**Be well friends.**

* * *

Santana went over to the couch, leaned over the back and smiled at her sleeping little girl, who had her teddy bear tucked close up against her and now had her head in Kurt's lap. "When did that happen?" she asked.

"A minute ago. She struggled to sit up and then fell this way, put her head in my lap and is now sleeping again," he said softly. Santana nodded, pet Marley's face gently and smiled when Marley let out a happy contented sigh.

"So we have to talk now," she said to Kurt seriously.

"Not in your mistress voice," he told her.

"I'm not," she defended.

"You are. Continue," he told her kindly.

"I need you and or Rachel to babysit, while I start heading back to the club for sessions. She's getting better, and we're going to have to figure out what she wants to do, but for right now, I need to start getting back to work."

"Tired of being a stay at home Mommy?" he teased and she glared at him.

"Mocking my skills?" she asked him angrily.

"Oh relax," he sighed and looked at her. "It doesn't make you a bad person Santana. Parents need breaks and you are her parent. Maybe not biologically but you are her parent. More so than Rachel and I. It's okay," he told her.

"I need you to watch her, and you know as well as I do that sessions at the club can go as long as three hours and then there's prep and clean up. I can be gone all day," she said with concern.

"That's not what this is about though. This is about you getting your refreshers, while Marley improves here at home, and gets attached to more than just you. She asks for Rachel and I, and she obviously likes staying with us, but you are the one she wants all the time. It's going to be tough on both of you and wonderful for the two of you at the same time," he said.

"Why do you sound so smart all of a sudden?" she asked him curiously.

"Because, Papa bought a book, and when we deal with tantrums and night terrors and can't go back to sleep, Papa reads," he said smirking at her.

"Papa's a dork!" Santana said.

"You would be lost without me," he said with an air of confidence and to his surprise, Santana wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Yes," she said simply.

* * *

Santana sat at her lap top going over emails, feeling better about designing punishments and scenarios for her clients. Once she finished composing everything, she put her lap top away, checked on Marley one more time, and then went into the other room to call Nicole. The soft click of the keys hadn't bothered Marley at all, but she'd worked so hard that she deserved the rest so Santana stepped out to give her peace. Kurt had left a while ago and was now in his room, on a phone call with his agent, going over audition schedules and work schedules, trying to get everything coordinated.

Santana picked up her cell and hit speed dial five. "Eve's Garden," Nicole answered.

"Hello Nicole, this is Santana," she said.

"Miss Rivers! I'm so happy to hear from you. I hope we get to see you soon. I miss seeing you here," Nicole smiled and Santana grinned.

"I'm working on it, I promise," she said.

"Lovely, now, you didn't call to listen to me gush. How can I help you?" she asked putting on her professional demeanor again.

"I'm calling to set up refresher courses. I need to join in on one session within the next week. No scat, no blood play, start me simple. Maybe just a doctor's scene, or some food design? I haven't done that in a while," she said.

"I do have three food designs this week, but they all involve bondage as well," Nicole said.

"Why do they always do that? They always want food and something else," Santana said walking over to a laundry basket and folding up Marley's clothes. "Who are the sessions with?" she asked.

"Miss Mercy, Miss Rain, and Mr. Evans," Nicole said.

"Mercy, definitely Mercy, she makes them beg, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I need to hear that," she said. "I need to hear them cry and beg, because, right now I associate crying with bad things," she said. "What are her scheduled sessions this week?" she asked.

"Easy ones, or whatever she has?" Nicole asked tapping keys on the computer to get it all correct information.

"An entire list, let's see what I can crash in on," Santana mused and Nicole started to read off the list.

"Tomorrow she has a hydro session for three hours. Tuesday is Electrostim for two hours. Wednesday she's off, and Thursday, she has the food design with bondage for two hours a small break and then another hydro session for only an hour this time."

"Oooh a newbie?" Santana asked excitedly. New people would be good. New people meant more business, but it also meant more begging and pleading and whining, for something that they didn't understand but were completely hot for. New meant noises she wouldn't want to hear, but had to get used to again. She had to learn to differentiate again. Right now whines meant tired and or scared. They used to mean, desire and slight trepidation. She had to learn to tell the difference again.

"Yes, a newbie, is that what you want to join?" she asked.

"Okay, check with Miss Mercy first. Make sure I can join both, but tell her I may only join one, I have to get a babysitter before I commit to both. The hydro session I can do for sure though. What times are they?"

"Food design starts at two pm and then the hydro session starts up at five thirty," Nicole said.

Santana did some math in her head and nodded. "Yes, the hydro session for sure, and I will let you know by tonight about the food design session," she said.

"Alright, I will tell her," Nicole smiled and just as they hung up there was a blood curdling scream heard in the other room. Marley was now awake.

Santana rushed in and Marley was sitting up, screaming at the top of her lungs, her breath going all haywire as she looked wildly around the room trying to figure out where she was and what was going on. She finally focused in on Santana who was now seated in front of her and threw herself at her. "Mommy," she wailed moving to her as best she could and holding on tight, crying heavily.

"Shhh, Mommy's here, you're okay," Santana soothed. Kurt simply pulled out Marley's shake from the fridge, set it on the table, gave them both a kiss to their temple and let them be together. Santana sat back on the couch and Marley stayed glued to her chest, whimpering and struggling to calm down. "Shhh, I'm right here baby, you're okay," she told her softly.

"Mommy," Marley said, her voice trembling so bad that Santana had to strain her ears to try and figure out what she was saying. It was only one word, over and over again. Marley needed her Mommy.

"Shhh, yes baby, it's Mommy," Santana said and Marley started to panic.

"No, no, baba," she started and Santana didn't understand what she was talking about. Marley was pressed tight to her, shaking, and so violently, she was stuttering; something Santana hadn't heard in her before. "Nnnnno, Bbbbbbb baba," she said tears falling down cheeks.

"Shhh, Marley, take a breath baby, listen to Mommy, and just breathe my love," Santana tried and Marley continued to shake and babble, so Santana let her be and grabbed the blanket she'd been sleeping with and wrapped it around her. "Marley, look baby, look here. Tell me sweetheart. What's this?" she asked pointing to the blanket. Rachel had picked out the blanket a few days ago when she heard that a cold snap was coming. Marley was still skin and bones, even though she was eating better. The blanket was made of a warm plush fabric, in a light blue color. It was baby enough, without being so baby, Marley would freak out. There were a variety of items on it. Ice cream cones, beach balls, umbrellas, something that looked like it could be butterflies, books, sunglasses, and drinks with twisty straws coming out of them. Rachel bought the blanket for two reasons. First, it kept Marley warm. Secondly, there were so many things on the blanket that they could get Marley to focus on, so she could practice her words.

"Look baby, look at your blanket. Let's look. What's this?" she asked her pointing to the ice cream cone as she kept her voice very soft and gentle.

"No, no baba, no Mommy, pee, no baba," she cried not even focusing in on the blanket, which usually was not a problem to get her to do.

"Okay, okay, shhh, no baba, I promise. I don't know what a baba is though sweetheart. That's a new word for you, so until I know what it is, I can't say yes or no, but right now, no. No baba, I promise," Santana said and Marley curled up tighter into herself, tucking her head under Santana's chin, putting her body into a painful position and whimpered softly, but didn't even care. She just needed to have Santana hold her, so she could be safe.

"Mommy," she said softly.

"Yes baby, Mommy's here," Santana assured her. Marley tucked herself tighter still and then let out a whimper of pain. "You're too tight baby, you have to relax a little. Mommy won't let go or leave you, but if you keep pulling in, you're going to have a muscle spasm," she said. "You also still haven't eaten. Let's see if we can get you to eat something please," Santana said.

"No baba, no baba," she cried.

"Shhh, no baby, I promise, you're okay. Let's call Papa and see if we can get some

food into you. He left your shake here, but I think you're going to need more, so let's get half your sandwich," she said. "Kurt!" she called and Marley set to crying and gripping Santana tightly.

"No baba, no baba," she said.

"No sweetheart, you're okay," Santana said and she looked up at Kurt. "I made her a turkey sandwish, can you get me half of it please?" she asked and Kurt looked down at Marley. Her fingers were tucked into the edge of Santana's top and her knuckles were white from the amount of pressure she had.

"It really amazes me, that none of our clothes are stretched out," he said with a little smile and went off to retrieve Marley's lunch, which was quickly becoming a very early dinner.

"Mommy," Marley whimpered.

"I'm right here love, and Papa is going to get you something to eat and then we can play with your toys for a little while," she offered and Marley shook her head, her grip on Santana getting tighter.

Santana bit back her whimper because Marley had a death grip on her shoulder and her finger nails were digging into Santana's skin. Kurt returned with the sandwich and a small glass of milk to help wash it down. "Here sweetheart, you stay with Mommy, Papa will help you eat," he told her. "Tiny baby bites for me," he said picking up the sandwich and putting the tip of it to her lips. She whined and turned her head away. "Come on baby girl, you have to eat," Kurt said. He could see her legs starting to twitch. If she didn't start eating the spasms were going to show up any second. "Teeny tiny baby bites, sweetheart," he told her and he carefully ripped up a bit, and then fed it to her, sighing happily when she ate it. "There's my good girl," he told her. "Papa is very proud of you Marley," he told her.

He and Santana coaxed her to eat almost everything and then Kurt picked up her shake to help her with that. He put it to her lips and she took tiny sips. "Very good Marley, I'm very proud of you," Santana told her and kept her close, letting Marley rest. "Can you stretch out a little for me? I don't want you getting a spasm," she said kindly. Marley allowed Santana to shift her a little more and pressed into her side and started to drift off again. "No baba Mommy, pee, no baba," she cried tiredly, fighting sleep.

"No baby, no baba, I promise," Santana said looking around for Marley's pacifier. She didn't see it and Kurt kindly tapped her shoulder, shooting her a curious look. She made a fist and put it to her mouth and he nodded. He went into the bedroom, and picked up the pacifier that was on the night stand, spotting another one in the kitchen counter, that was waiting to be cleaned.

He placed it in Marley's hand and pet her face gently. "No baba Papa, pee, no baba," she whimpered, her eyes flickering open and closed.

"Shhh, no sweetheart, I promise," he told her and five minutes later, she was sleeping again. "What's a baba?" Kurt asked kindly.

"I have no idea, but we apparently don't want one," she said.

* * *

Rachel was home now, and fixing dinner with Santana while Marley was fighting with Kurt. "Are you going to say something?" Rachel whispered softly as she chopped up some cucumbers.

"I'm waiting for him to grow a pair," Santana said honestly and Rachel scowled at her. "No. I mean it. If the two of you babysit, you can't be afraid to put her in time out and mean it. She isn't to be rude, she knows that. I know she's tired, and so does Kurt, but there are still rules in place and she knows them," Santana said.

"No, Marley, you don't throw your blocks, you know better," Kurt told her kindly. "Now, try again, tell me what you want to say," he said.

"BABA!" she screamed at him and Santana let a beat of silence go by before she spoke up.

"Marley Rose!" she said sternly and Marley looked stunned. "Apologize to Papa now and then I will help you to the corner where you will stay for five minutes. You do not speak so rudely to Papa," she lectured.

"Mommy," she whined.

"Six minutes," Santana said firmly and tears sprang to Marley's eyes. "Quickly or I'll make it seven," Santana said seriously.

Marley hung her head and looked in Kurt's direction but stared at the floor instead of at him. "Aw-ry," she pouted.

"Marley, that was not a real apology," Santana warned.

"Mama!" Marley cried out wanting to get help from someone and have them on her side.

"No baby, Mommy gave you an order, you listen to her," Rachel called from the kitchen.

"That is how you act," Santana told Kurt, gesturing behind her toward Rachel. "You young lady, you come with Mommy," she said and she picked up Teddy Bear and brought Marley to the corner as carefully as possible. "Six minutes."

"F-eye," Marley whined.

"I can make it seven," Santana told her. "You yelled at Papa and you're back talking me. Both are not okay. Six minutes. Sit down," Santana said and she gave her Teddy Bear. She had her face the corner and Marley's breath started to go ragged immediately, panicking that she would not be able to see any of her family for six minutes. "Marley, look at Mommy," Santana said kindly. "You're safe in your house, that is why Teddy Bear sits with you, to remind you, but what you did is not okay. Sit here and think about why Mommy put you in time out," she lectured.

"No, Mommy day," she cried.

"No Marley. Mommy isn't staying. Six minutes, I will be back after that," she said and with a kiss to her forehead, Santana left and Marley started to cry.

"That is why I can't stand doing that to her," Kurt hissed once Santana had backed away and he was relatively sure Marley wouldn't be able to hear them hissing at each other. The only thing Marley could hear at the moment was the sound of her own breathing, growing more and more rapid with each passing second.

"Yes, but I set boundaries and you need to follow them. Strap on a pair," Santana scolded him, keeping her voice soft so she didn't rattle Marley, who was already on the verge of a panic attack.

"Santana," Rachel hissed and she pointed over to the corner where Marley was trembling violently and her back was rising and falling so fast, it looked like she was ready to throw up.

"Sing for her," Santana said quietly and Rachel started to sing again for her, knowing that Marley had heard her sing the song before. Rachel wanted to be sure that Marley had enough surrounding her that she knew, so she didn't get so scared. "When the rain is blowing in your face, and the whole world is on your case, I can offer you a warm embrace, to make you feel my love," she sang.

Six minutes seemed to crawl by and Santana didn't let Rachel sing for the whole time. She only let her sing twice, just to keep Marley focused. The six minutes finished and Santana walked over to the corner and knelt down on Marley's side. "Marley," she said kindly.

"Mommy," she cried.

"I'm right here honey, you're okay. Breathe for me," she coached. Marley got her breathing under control relatively quickly and then looked at Santana. "Did you think about why you had a time out?" she asked her and Marley nodded. "Good girl, why?"

"Cuff I 'ed at Papa," she told her.

"Yes, you yelled at Papa, anything else?"

"An' Mommy," she said softly.

"Very good my love. Now, I will help you up, we will go wash up for dinner, and then you will apologize to Papa for yelling at him," she told her and Marley nodded, hanging her head and looking pitiful.

"Ah-wee Mommy," she told her.

"Thank you baby," Santana said and she wrapped her in a tight hug and helped her to the bathroom, and while they washed their hands and helped Marley clean up her face, she watched Marley start to panic. "Shhh, I'm right here baby, and I can see how scared you are, so tell me what's wrong," she coaxed.

"No baba, no baba," she whimpered quietly.

Santana sighed and pulled Marley close, hugging her tightly and rubbing her back gently. "Baby, none of us know what a baba is, so you don't have to worry about it. If you choose to tell us what it is, that will help, but we don't know what it is," Santana told her and Marley let out a whine of frustration. She didn't know why they didn't know and she didn't know how to explain it without having a hysterical flashback. "Shhh. Nothing bad is going to happen, this is the same as any other time out in this house. I put you there to think about what you did wrong. You will apologize and then that's it. It's all over, clean slate, and we just carry on with our lives. I promise you there is nothing else coming and you have no reason to be so scared right now," she told her.

Marley nodded, but Santana knew she wasn't convinced. She helped her into the other room and Kurt immediately wrapped Marley in a hug. "My sweet girl, I love you so much, and I'm sorry that I made you so frustrated," he told her and she burst into tears, hugging him tightly.

"Nice Kurt," Rachel laughed softly to herself.

"What did I do now?" he asked Santana with panic in his eyes.

"Nothing," Santana sighed. "You didn't do anything, she's just over tired, and overwhelmed, and still trying to figure things out. Marley baby, say your apology to Papa as well," Santana said kindly and let them be. They needed the time together.

"Ah-wee Papa," she said sadly.

"Thank you baby girl. I accept and now, let's go eat, because Mama Rae cooked up dinner, and it smells really good," he said. "And don't tell Mommy I know this, but she eats like a truck driver, so we better go sit down, so she doesn't eat it all on us," he teased and Marley managed a genuine smile. "I love that smile Marley," he told her and the little family sat down to dinner.

* * *

After dinner was finished, Rachel suggested that Marley go watch a movie with her on the couch while Santana and Kurt cleaned up. Marley shook her head no wanting to help her family but sleep was taking over her body again and she let out a tired whimper and Santana smiled. "Marley, what if Mama Rae, helps you get ready for bed. Bath time, okay?" she asked kindly, but everyone knew it wasn't a question.

Rachel stood up and gathered Marley close, rubbing her back and seconds after Marley's head was on her shoulder and she had a death grip on Rachel's shoulders.

"No baba, Mama," she cried and Rachel pouted.

"No my love, I promise. Just a bath. You love bath time," Rachel told her and Marley continued to hold on and shake as Rachel guided her.

"Mama, owie," she said.

"Should we go sit on the potty?"

"Owie, ummy," she said putting her hand gently on her belly.

"Okay, how about we go to the bathroom. You can sit on the potty and Mama will rub your belly, very gently. It might help," Rachel suggested and with a moment of thought Marley nodded and they went off.

"I gotta find out what she's on about. She hasn't been so adamant against anything so far, and I can tell her that it won't happen all I want, but I don't know what it is," Santana sighed once they were in the other room and the door was closed.

"What about your job?" he asked.

"Yeah, I still have to bring up babysitting," she sighed.

"No, I meant what about the people at your job," Kurt said. "Some of those people have been doing this job for years, so maybe they know what Marley's so upset about. The only thing I can think of is a bottle, but she smiles and giggles whenever we show her one. She's not afraid of those," Kurt said.

"Well what do you know, Lady Hummel, pays attention."

"Someone should tell your boss that you're a brat," Kurt laughed shaking his head.

"I still have to bring up babysitting. Marley's gonna flip, and I don't know how to handle it. I can't lie to her. When I was a kid, I would ask where my parents went and they always told me they'd gone to the store. Then I used to get pissed because they'd never bought me anything and if I tell her the truth," Santana said trailing off.

"Remember earlier? Remember when I mentioned I was reading a lot?" he asked and Santana eyed him carefully. "Remember how I mentioned that? Maybe I know more than you think. Maybe I know how to help you. Maybe you shouldn't be such a brat and instead you should ask me for help," Kurt said.

"Maybe I just spank you instead," Santana laughed.

"Maybe I tell you nothing then," Kurt said and Santana splashed some dirty dishwater on him. He recoiled in mock horror, and seemed to ignore her, but then turned on the water and got her with the sprayer attached to the sink. The two were laughing happily with each other when Rachel and Marley finally emerged from the bathroom. "I think Mommy and Papa have lost their minds," Rachel said kindly taking note of the situation before them. "What do you say baby? Did they go crazy?" Rachel asked.

"Hey baby girl, did you have a good bath?" Santana asked from her spot on the floor, looking happily at Rachel and Marley.

"Mommy," Marley said softly, reaching toward her as best she could while Rachel supported her.

Santana pushed herself to her feet and went to Marley's side, giving her a kiss. "I love you baby girl,' she told her. "Mommy's turn to get ready for bed though. Will you sit with Mama Rae a little longer and then as soon as I come out, Papa will choose a movie and we can all have ice cream okay?" she asked and Marley agreed.

It took another hour for everyone to be totally settled, but eventually, everyone was curled up in some position on the couch, with ice cream, while Kurt put the movie on. He'd chosen Practical Magic for them that night and turned around to sit on the couch, wishing he could take a picture. Rachel was tucked into the left corner of the couch and Marley had her back resting against Rachel's chest while Santana sat in front of her, feeding her ice cream. Marley looked exhausted and she had no problem, laying still for Santana and Rachel, not moving a muscle, besides the ones in her jaw to open her mouth, take the small bit of ice cream and swallow. It was just a very tender moment, and Marley looked happy. It was a scene he saw a lot recently, but he knew it would end quickly like every other time. When Marley had major breakthroughs, she would be good for about an hour and then she'd regress. If she was in, what she deemed, a stressful situation, she'd regress tremendously, becoming that terrified girl, they'd met at the hospital. Santana leaving her for hours at a time, definitely counted as stressful.

Marley and Santana fell asleep first and Kurt looked at Rachel. "Did you hear about babysitting?" he asked.

"Yeah, Santana talked to me while you were fighting with our baby," she teased looking down at a peaceful looking Marley and pet her hair gently.

"Nervous?" Kurt asked.

"Absolutely," Rachel admitted. "But I stand by what I said. Santana wanted a challenge, and she got it. The problem is, now the challenge is to go back to work, and I don't like that. Santana is good at her job, it needs to stay that way," she said strongly, "and I see her freaking out. She's afraid of her job now," Rachel said softly.

"You just don't want to pay rent next month," Kurt teased. "I'm going to bed," he told her and gave her a kiss to her forehead and then one to Marley and even Santana.

"I'll come pester you for details later," Santana said tiredly. Kurt nodded and walked to his room, allowing the three girls to have some bonding time on the couch.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello everyone,**

**Guess what, you get another bonus chapter this week, because it's my friend's birthday weekend and I know that they are potentially down about some things going on their life at the moment. **

**As always, squick factor warnings for this chapter, minor, I'll give it a four on a scale of 10. Forced anal penetration.**

**Some baby talk explanation. I took a course in college about language. The way the tongue sits in your mouth, is very crucial in pronouncing certain letters and combinations of letters. If you never understand something Marley is saying, PM me or leave it in a review and I will gladly explain. A guest reviewer of this story - Kali - asked what F-eye meant. Marley was given a time out of six minutes, she only wanted five, and while she could say the F sound, the V sound, in her condition, is still painful for her.**

**That being said, some of you have guessed at what BABA means, and some of you have given me your insight as to what it might mean. So far, the guesses are wrong, and the insight is close, but you haven't guessed it yet. Marley has said the word pee several times. Please, is what she's trying to say, but L's and S's and Z sounds are not easy for her, so she just eliminates those sounds.**

**Last but not least, major thanks to NayaFan, UnholyUnderBoob, and Beaner008 for all their inspirations.**

**Wishing you all the best!**

* * *

The next morning Marley woke up in a panic. "No, no, no!" she shrieked and Santana quickly pulled her close. "No, no, no, no baba," she cried and the tears started immediately and Santana began speaking.

"Marley. Do you hear Mommy? Can you hear Mommy Santana?" she asked her keeping her close, rocking her a little bit, and petting her hair.

"No baba," she cried, tears running down her cheeks.

"Shhh," Santana said and she pulled Marley tight and guided Marley's head to her shoulder, so she could find something familiar in her current state. She was definitely not all here, somehow stuck in her head still. She picked up her cell phone and called over to the club.

"Eve's Garden," Nicole answered.

"Nicole, thank goodness. It's Santana. I need to talk to Miss Susan immediately if possible," she said.

"You have great timing, hold on," Nicole said.

Santana heard the music for a few seconds before Susan answered. "Santana my love, how are you?" she asked her.

"I need help," Santana said and Marley let out an ear piercing scream. "Marley baby please," Santana said and she shifted them both a little bit. "She keeps screaming about a baba and how she doesn't want one, and I tell her I won't give one to her, but I don't know what she's talking about, so I feel like I'm lying," she said honestly.

"Calm down Santana. Just breathe for a moment. Once you're calm, it'll help her calm down too. Give it a few minutes and then we'll go over it again," Susan said kindly. It took five minutes of silence but then there was calm and quiet and Susan smiled. "Now, again, tell me what it is she doesn't want."

"She keeps sayin A," Santana said spelling the word rather than saying it.

"Have you tried bottles? Maybe just showing her a picture?"

"Yes, but she thinks those are funny. We can't figure out what is funny about them, but she's okay with those, so it's not that."

"Alright, well then you have to think about the meaning of it. Bottles put things into people, so you have to think about things that go in," Susan explained.

"Okay, thank you Miss," Santana said and a few moments later, the two of them hung up and Marley let out another scream of pain and anguish.

* * *

All the screaming had woke Rachel and she went out to see if she could help. She knelt next to Marley and pet her hair. "Shhh, Mommy's got you Marley, and Mama Rae is right here," she said on a yawn and continued to pet and stroke Marley's hair and face, hoping to help in some small way.

"No baba, no baba," she cried and Rachel felt her heart break.

"I wish we knew what that was," Rachel said.

"I wish that too," Santana said. "I called over to the club and spoke to Miss Susan. I am now to think about what it means, because it's not about an actual bottle. Those are funny for some reason, but what she's afraid of, apparently has a meaning, so I have to figure out the whole meaning thing," Santana said.

"Yay help," Rachel said softly and Santana rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't as much as I wanted," she admitted. Marley's eyes fluttered closed as sleep started to take over her body again and then she screamed in pain and Rachel quickly moved to her calf, so that she didn't knee Santana in the crotch as her calf went into spasm, forcing her leg to jerk upward. Rachel got a tight hold and massaged her carefully until her cramp relaxed and Rachel sighed. "How about a banana?" she asked, mainly directing it at Santana.

"How about oatmeal for breakfast instead," Santana said. "I don't want to repeat foods too many times for her. I went over the report for the millionth time. Terri was rare to mix up food," she explained.

"With brown sugar and strawberries for taste," Rachel smiled and she got up to fix breakfast. Santana smiled at her and then leant back on the couch, having Marley rest on top of her, and Marley simply cried.

"Oh, we are having a very bad day. I'm so sorry baby," she told her and Marley let out a squeal of pain and put a death grip on Santana's shirt, the fabric oozing through the small spaces between her fingers, and Santana did her best to sooth her, but nothing seemed to be working. "Come on, we sit up and maybe Mama Rae will feed you," she said and Marley tried to curl further into Santana's body. "Shhh, easy my love, very easy, because your muscles are very sore and tense and lacking nutrients. Mama Rae is making you oatmeal and we'll help you eat it and then no more pain, I promise baby, okay?" Santana said and she cuddled Marley close, but Marley didn't say anything any more. She just went back to blinking or nodding.

Rachel came over and sat on the coffee table. "Alright sweetheart, it's not hot, I promise. See, look here. No steam. Mama Rae would never give you anything that would hurt you," she told her. "Tiny bites baby," Rachel told her kindly and fed her a small spoonful of oatmeal with brown sugar and a tiny piece of a strawberry, so that it wasn't so bitter. Marley ate and after a few bites, she was done and turned away from Rachel and into Santana, hiding her face from the world and crying softly.

"No baba, no baba," she cried.

Rachel sighed and took a big spoonful of oatmeal for herself and then offered a spoonful to Santana who gratefully accepted. "It's going to be a long day," Santana said.

* * *

Marley woke up a few hours later and looked around, not seeing Santana. Instead of being calm like normal, she immediately panicked. "Mommy," she cried softly, and she laid there crying, not bothering to sit up or look around. She scolded herself while she laid there. They probably left her because she kept telling them no. She was going to just lay there forever, she couldn't say much, she couldn't move without assistance, and now she was all alone, not even in a hospital. The teddy bear that Santana had bought was near her and she heard voices in the other room, but it sounded wrong. None of them sounded like voices she knew. Tears were cascading down her face now and she sniffled a few times and brushed away her own tears.

The soft noise had gotten Santana's attention and she moved to the doorway to check on Marley, who she thought was sleeping. "Hey baby girl," she smiled. Marley didn't say anything, she just looked terrified. Santana sighed and got down on the floor and sighed. "You're having a bad day, aren't you honey?" she asked her and Marley blinked twice, purposefully lying. Santana kept a neutral face and laid down on the floor so she was in a mirrored position. "Okay, I'm sorry. My mistake," she told her and she reached her hand out.

"I'm going to tell you a little story okay?" she asked and Marley blinked once. Santana smiled and started her story. "When I first came to New York, I was really scared. I knew Mama Rae, and I knew Papa, so I knew some people, but other than that, it was all a big mess, and a lot of times, I had to act really really brave, even though inside I was shaking because I was really really scared. Do you know that Mommy gets scared?" she asked her and Marley blinked twice. "Then that makes Mommy a very good actress, because Mommy has been scared a lot lately," she said and she waited for a response, but didn't get one. "Mommy is afraid for her baby girl Marley. She's afraid for big girl Marley too," she said. "When I first met you, I needed to make sure that you were taken care of and it scared me to know I wouldn't be with you at all times, to be extra sure that my little girl would be cared for, because from the first moment I read about you, I knew for sure you were, you are, my little girl," she said.

Marley's tears started to flow faster and she started to shake a bit, even under her blanket. She didn't know why Santana was claiming her as her little girl. "Shhh, take a breath, you're okay," she assured her. "See, this is what scares Mommy so much. Baby Marley and Big Girl Marley are the same person, but they don't do the same thing. My big girl has to fight and be super strong all the time, and my baby girl just wants things to be easy and simple and not so scary. Big girl Marley had a lot of things taken away from her by a bully and she needs to rest. Big girl Marley has to go away and not do anything. She wants to rest. She has to rest and then Baby girl Marley come out and be with us for a little while, but it's scary to do that. It seems very scary and so I think that because she's so scared Big girl Marley went away to hide. I also think that she didn't tell Baby Marley she was going to do that. So now my big girl is scared and my baby girl is scared too," Santana suggested. I think my baby girl has to fight so much harder than she wants to. I think she wants to though," Santana ventured. "I think my baby girl is very frustrated too because she's been working so hard, and she just wants to rest and be a sweet baby girl for a while. Does that sound right?" Santana asked and Marley forced her eyes open wide. If she blinked, she would be admitting something. It would hurt to admit it. She would be letting someone down. Santana however, remained very patient.

"Marley baby, it's okay to be scared and it's okay to tell me that you need a true break and that you want to be a baby girl for a while and not work so hard. It's okay to want to play with your toys, and take naps, and watch movies all day, and not want to do physical therapy with Mr. Joe or speech therapy with Miss April. It's okay to not want to do anything other than let Mommy, or Mama Rae, or Papa take care of you," she said and Marley continued to cry harder. "You know what Mommy thinks? Mommy thinks that her baby girl needs to be catered to today. Mommy thinks that she needs to hold her baby girl and reassure her that Mommy isn't leaving and that baby Marley and big girl Marley are going to be in this house, with us, for as long as they choose to be. You never have to worry about being alone and if you feel alone I want you to call for someone, because someone will be around for you, do you think you can remember that?" Marley blinked once and Santana gave her a smile.

"Can Mommy change you?" she asked her and Marley blinked. Santana felt relief flood through her but she moved slowly. She rolled Marley to her back, and changed her carefully. The blisters and sores were gone now, but Marley still had pain all over her bottom. The emotional abuse was still with her and any little touch brought a round of fresh tears. "I love my baby girl so much and I know she is so scared, but it's okay my love. I am right here and we always go slow. You hold Teddy Bear and as soon as you're all changed, Mommy will hold you," she told her.

Rachel found them fifteen minutes later and smiled. "Hey there baby girl," she smiled taking a seat in front of them. "Did you have a nice nap this morning?" she asked her and Marley didn't answer, she sunk further into Santana and Rachel frowned. "I'm sorry baby," she told her. "Little kisses and then I'll let you and Mommy sit together okay?" she asked her and Rachel stood up to leave and Marley started bawling, reaching for Rachel, afraid she would leave them forever. "That's new," Rachel said freezing in her spot, not sure of what to do first as they both watched in stunned silence at Marley's open mouth wailing.

"Shhh, you're okay baby. Mama Rae didn't leave yet, it's okay," Santana said kindly and Rachel sat back down.

"Marley baby, you're okay. I haven't left. I don't have to leave honey. It's up to you," she said sitting back down in front of them and Marley just cried.

"She can't cry herself to sleep again," Santana sighed.

"Maybe we all go play with the piano and give her something nice to focus on," Rachel suggested and Santana agreed. "Have you given any more thought to what Miss Susan told you earlier?" she asked quietly as they helped Marley to stand up.

"Not even a tiny idea," Santana responded just as softly.

* * *

The three girls were seated on the couch and Rachel looked at Santana. "What was your little discussion about in their before I showed up?" Rachel asked her, carefully playing with Marley's hair, kissing the top of her head as Marley rested between them.

Santana took a deep breath, she didn't want to do this, but somewhere deep down, she thought it would help. "Mommy Santana was talking to Big Girl Marley, and Baby Girl Marley and Mommy explained that it's okay to want to be a baby girl today. It's okay to want to let Mama Rae, and Mommy Santana take care of baby girl Marley," Santana said.

"I think that's a good idea," Rachel smiled. "Tell me sweetheart, what would Marley like to do?" Rachel asked and Marley got tense. "Shhh, it's alright sweetheart. Did you know that Marley can tell us anything she wants?" she asked her kindly. "It's true, she can. Marley can say anything she wants," Rachel said keeping her voice calm and gentle and Santana took the welcome break. "For example," Rachel said gently. "Marley could say she wants her piano and Mommy and Mama and Marley can play some music, or Marley could say she wants her pacifier, or her blanket, or a movie, or food, or anything she wants. Anything that our sweet baby girl wants to tell us, we want to hear," Rachel said.

Marley seemed to think about that for a moment and then looked to Santana with terribly sat eyes. "Mommy?"

"What's up baby girl?" she asked.

"Mommy, no baba," she cried and she tried to put herself up in Santana's lap and cried out sadly and tiredly.

Santana frowned and pulled her baby girl into her arms, cradling her as if she were only a very small infant. "Shhh, you're okay baby, Mommy's right here," she told her. "You know what, I think Mama Rae had a good idea. How about we get blanket and Teddy Bear, and a pacifier and just sit like this for a while," Santana said.

Rachel didn't even wait for Santana to ask her to do something, she just grabbed the items and returned. She put Teddy Bear in Marley's arms, covered her with her blanket, and put the pacifier in her hands. "Marley is in charge of this sweetheart. No one else," Rachel told her. "No one gets to put this in Marley's mouth, but Marley," Rachel told her.

Marley thought about it for a minute, put the pacifier in her mouth and turned carefully onto her side, hiding her face in Santana's chest, knowing that her Mommy had her. "My sweet baby girl," Santana said gently as she pet her hair. "Mommy loves you so much she can't possibly express it correctly."

* * *

Three days later, Marley was at least calm. They hadn't forced her to do anything over the past three days. Santana cancelled all her therapy sessions. Marley very slowly went from baby girl to toddler over the three days and by day three, she was her bright, smiley self. She was talking to Santana in broken sentences, and laughing when she saw something funny. Her new favorite game was Simon. Kurt had bought it for her the day before.

_"Look baby, Papa has a new toy for you," he smiled at her and pulled it out of the bag to show her. She looked at it curiously and then held on to Santana as Kurt took it out of the package and put in the batteries. "See sweetheart, it's lights and sound," Kurt smiled. "Look, let's push start and see what happens," he told her gently and she nodded but rested against Santana._

_"You have to watch lovely," Santana told her, helping her turn a little bit so she could see. Kurt pressed the start button and it beeped a sound and flashed a green light. Kurt pressed the green button and it made the same beep. Then it beeped the green button twice, so Kurt pressed it twice. This happened for a good twenty seconds before it finally gave Kurt a pattern that he didn't quite remember and the machine made a buzzing sound, which Marley found hysterical, but seemed afraid to laugh._

_"It's farts?" Santana asked, a smile spreading across her face._

_"It didn't fart!" Kurt said, pouting at Santana's teasing._

_"I heard it," Santana said seriously pointing to it, and then turned to Marley, who had her pacifier in her mouth. "Marley baby, did you hear the machine fart?" she asked her._

_"It didn't fart, it raspberried," Kurt said. "Watch," he told her and pressed the start button . When it flashed the red light, he pressed blue and the machine made the same noise._

_"That was a fart!" Santana stated._

_"Raspberry," Kurt protested. Meanwhile, Marley tapped Santana's shoulder and reached her hand out toward the machine. _

_"You want to make it fart too?" Santana asked with a smile. _

_"It's not a fart," Kurt said rolling his eyes._

_"Go on baby, you can play with it. We'll play together for a little bit and then Mommy has to go make a phone call okay?" she asked her and Marley nodded her agreement. After some time, Santana gave her a kiss to her temple and went to make her phone call._

_"Come on my love, Papa will sit with you and we'll play with the toy some more," Kurt told her._

Santana was currently in the shower and Rachel was helping Marley eat her snack now that she was done playing her Simon toy. "It's hummus and crackers baby."

"Ed," Marley said softly pointing to the hummus.

"Yes, it's roasted red pepper humus," Rachel told her. "Here, would you like to read the ingredients? I can get you the box to read it to you," she said. Marley shook her head no and carefully reached for a cracker, her hand very steady and then she tried to scoop up some humus, but was having difficulty. "I will help you if you want it sweetheart," Rachel offered and Marley thought for a moment before putting her hand in Rachel's.

"H'ep Mama," she agreed and Rachel nodded. She guided Marley's hand and the cracker toward the humus, helped her scoop some up and very carefully guided it to her mouth.

"You did great Marley! A few more attempts with help and you'll be able to do it yourself. I'm so proud of you!" Rachel praised and that was the time Santana emerged from the shower.

"You two look happy."

"Mommy, ed," Marley said pointing to the humus.

"What happened to your R's?" she asked kindly.

"Rrrr" Marley said and Santana and Rachel smiled at her little growl.

"Can you say red?" Santana coached.

"Ed," she said in carefully, and then frowned.

"Miss April says it will come back soon. You just have to practice some more sweetheart, and you're doing very well. I am very proud of you," she told her.

"I am too lovely," Rachel said and helped her get some more humus onto a cracker.

"Ed, ummy," Marley told Santana.

"I know, that's Papa's favorite flavor, we end up with a lot of it. Do you like it?" she asked. Marley nodded and then carefully grabbed another cracker and tried to feed Santana. Santana ate it happily and then gave Marley a kiss. "Thank you baby," she smiled. "So, once you finish your snack, we need to talk about what we're going to do tomorrow, because therapy is back on, which if you will remember was your decision," she said.

"I 'eady," Marley said seriously.

"I'm very glad baby girl," she told her and gave her another kiss, before going to get dressed. "Those lights were the best thing Kurt ever purchased," Santana told Rachel softly while Marley concentrated on eating some more.

* * *

After her snack, Santana gathered her courage. This was it. She was going to have to leave her baby girl for a few hours. Granted Marley would be with Rachel and Kurt, but it was still very difficult. She was leaving a still unsure pet to go experience time a new and different unsure pet. It was very daunting and though she would never admit it, she was nervous.

"Okay sweet girl, let's sit and talk okay?" she asked and Marley nodded. "You know how you're doing so well, and healing, and how Mommy is very proud of you?" she asked and Marley nodded, suddenly unsure of what was about to be said. "Well Mommy has to improve now too, and that means Mommy has to start going back to work," she said.

"I go?" Marley asked, tears immediately springing to her eyes. This was it, she was about to be disowned and left for herself because she was too much trouble, meanwhile she still couldn't crawl or walk by herself so she had to be with someone. She needed care to a certain level. She didn't know how to change herself, and she was still in diapers.

"No my sweet girl. You have to stay at home while Mommy goes to work," she said and immediately Marley started to cry. They really were going to leave her.

"I good, I good, Mommy day!" she pleaded, tears pouring down her face. "I good, I good," she repeated and Santana watched in frozen horror and Marley tried to stand up and move. Her body wasn't ready though, so her attempt to stand and show Santana how much of a big girl she was, and how much trouble she wouldn't be, she fell down on her stomach, her legs twisting underneath her and she screamed in pain, but quickly tried to stop, unsuccessfully.

_"Nothing but a worthless little piece of shit!" Terri screamed as she picked up a wooden paddle and brought it down sharply on Marley's diapered bottom. The diaper however had been used and that was why she was getting this spanking in the first place._

Santana quickly pulled her little girl into her lap, wrapped her arms around her and held her tight. "Shhh, shhh, shhh, Mommy's got you baby. Mommy Santana has baby girl Marley nice and close, because Mommy Santana loves her baby girl so much. Marley is my baby and only leaves when she wants to," she explained.

"No! I good, Mommy day! Mommy!" Marley cried and she continued crying, shaking with fear as Santana held her. She pulled her little girl a little bit closer, and put her pacifier in her hand. "For you when you're ready Marley," she told her and kept her close.

Rachel had been in the shower during this whole time, but when she came out, she heard screams of terror and her heart broke. She wanted to rush out and help Santana but there was nothing she could do to help, so she just stood at the door and listened

"You are a very good girl Marley. You most definitely are. Here's your pacifier, and you only use it if you want to," she said feeling how tense Marley was. "Calm down baby, you're okay. I'm not leaving you, I just have to go to work."

"No, I good!" Marley cried, shaking so hard, that she coughed and gagged twice.

"You are Marley, you are a very good girl," Santana assured her and immediately Marley put her head on Santana's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her neck, gripping as tight as she could, which wasn't that tight at all, but Santana could feel her effort. "Mommy Santana's very best baby girl," Santana said softly, trying to have some sort of calming effect on her. Eventually Marley was calm and a little bit of a hot mess in Santana's lap. "Marley my love, you are Mommy's best girl," she told her. "But I want you to listen to me very carefully and understand what I'm saying. This is like everything else, we go slow, so that I know, you understand. You squeeze Mommy's hand when you're ready," she told her gently, kissing her temple and rocking her a little bit, side to side to help calm her further.

"Mommy," she said softly.

"Yes baby?"

"Eye," she said, holding up her hand and opening and closing her fingers, signing the word light, as best she could.

"I can get your light game, we can play together, but you're still going to have to tell me when you're ready to hear the explanation of what is happening tomorrow. I don't want to leave you unprepared," Santana told her and Marley nodded. If she waited, and never told Santana, she was ready, then Santana would never leave, she was convinced of this.

"As soon as Mama Rae comes out to join us, I will ask her to get the light game we can play," Santana assured her. They sat cuddled for fifteen minutes and then Rachel finally emerged, dressed, and smiling. "Hey, can you bring Simon over here?" she asked.

"Sure, do I get to play too?" Rachel smiled.

"What do you say love, should we let Mama Rae play too?" Santana asked and Marley nodded and relaxed a great deal. It was like she'd never had a melt down moments ago. Santana was relieved about this, because maybe it would make the impending conversation easier.

"Mama," Marley said softly. "Mama g'een an eh'whoa, kay?" she asked Rachel kindly.

"Yes baby, Mama Rae will be green and yellow, are you going to be red and blue?" she asked and Marley nodded. "What color is Mommy going to be?" Rachel asked kindly, trying to figure out where Marley's brain was.

"Mommy owe me, eye," she said pulling Santana's arms tighter around her body, then she leaned a bit to the side, turned her head and kissed Santana's cheek.

"Mommy would love to hold her baby girl as tight as possible and as much as she can," Santana said kindly and returned the kiss, noticing how young Marley was acting. She was also seemingly feeling safe and she tried to work this out while Rachel and Marley played the game.

"Where's Kurt?" Rachel asked, not looking up from the game while directing her question straight at Santana.

"He went on an audition," she said and then fell quiet again, watching Marley and Rachel play. She was trying to figure out why Marley was so calm all of a sudden. She was glad she was, but something wasn't adding up and finally it dawned on her so Santana cleared her throat and stared at Rachel for a few seconds trying to bore a hole into her friend, in order to get her attention. Finally Rachel looked up and her smile fell. Something was either very wrong, or about to go down.

Santana shook her head no and then took a deep breath. "Mama Rae, would you like to spend some special one on one time with Marley tomorrow?" she asked.

"I would love to," Rachel smiled.

"That's really good to hear, because tomorrow Mommy has to go," Santana started.

"Mommy! H'ep!" Marley yelled interrupting. She wasn't ready for to discuss anything. She wanted to play and not talk about it. She didn't want Santana to leave her.

"Shhh, indoor voices please," Santana scolded gently, gave her a kiss and helped her press the right button and fell quiet and Rachel looked at her with raised eyebrows. Santana shook her head and smiled kindly.

"You were saying," Rachel said.

"Oh I was saying that Mommy has to go," Santana started again.

"MOMMY!" Marley shrieked grabbing Santana's hand and pressing it down on the green button.

"Marley, no yelling," Santana scolded her.

"Mommy, g'een, mommy p'ay," she said.

"Okay, Mommy will play, but no yelling," she told her kindly and kissed her cheek gently when Marley blushed. Rachel and Santana had a silent conversation. Rachel would go to open her mouth to say something, but Santana would shake her head no. She had to find the right time to do it. Marley had to be very relaxed and right now she wasn't. Finally Marley calmed and Santana nodded at Rachel

"So what were you trying to say?" Rachel questioned kindly.

"I have to go to work," Santana said and Marley froze. It was her turn, she paused for too long and the game made the raspberry sound and Marley turned to Santana.

"No, I good, I good, Mommy day!" she pleaded tears burning her eyes, but she fought them. She had to prove that she was a good girl, and not any trouble at all.

"Marley Rose, you are a very good girl and I love you very much, that is not why I'm leaving," she said.

"Mommy day!" she pleaded.

"Shhh, calm down, listen to Mommy," Santana said shifting them a little bit and Marley put a death grip on Santana, resting her head on Santana's shoulder, crying and pleading for her Mommy not to leave her.

Rachel got up, went into her room, pulled out her iPad and returned, scooting in next to Santana, so Marley could stay cuddled and still see if Rachel asked her to. "What's the address?" she asked.

"For what?"

"For the club."

"You're going to terrify her?" Santana practically barked, making Marley shriek.

"Stop growling, and no I'm not. I'm going to show her where you're going, in relation to where we are."

"Because..."

"You are the one who keeps saying that you want things explained to her. That you want her to fully understand everything. Well this is part of that, so what's the address?" Rachel asked strongly and for a split second Marley stopped crying and looked at Rachel. There was something fiercely protective in her voice and Marley was both surprised and happy about what she heard.

Rachel put the address in and pulled up a little map that indicated how far away the club was from the apartment. "Hey baby," Rachel said kindly and she waited for Marley to focus and noted that her breathing was starting to go ragged. "I just want to show you a little picture, but maybe I give you your pacifier first, in case you want it," she said. Marley opened her mouth, afraid to even let go of Santana for even a second, but Rachel shook her head and smiled. "No my sweet girl. This has never changed and will never change. The only person in charge of Marley's pacifier is Marley," she told her and put it in her hand.

Marley trembled but gripped it in her fist while keeping herself glued to Santana and Santana could tell she wanted the pacifier. "I'm not leaving right now baby. I'm not leaving for work until tomorrow afternoon. If you let go of me to use your pacifier I will still be here," she assured her and Marley waited, moving very cautiously and the three girls sat in the room, not moving forward until Marley was ready.

"Mama," Marley said softly.

"What's up baby?" she asked her.

"Mommy day, I good," she said.

"First of all my darling girl, I do not appreciate the guilt trip and I'm sure Mommy doesn't either," Rachel said kindly, keeping her voice gentle, but it still had a tone that Marley understood it was a warning. "Secondly, you are our very best girl Marley. That's not why Mommy's leaving and she's only going to be gone for a little while. She has to go to work. She has to make money, so that we can continue to live here and while she's gone you and Mama Rae will just have some dinner, and maybe some ice cream, and watch a movie," she explained.

"I good," Marley whimpered and gripped even tighter to Santana.

"The best," Rachel told her gently and carefully went to pet Marley's face. "You're a very good girl Marley and Mommy isn't leaving for long, and she's not leaving because you were not a good girl. She just has to go to work," Rachel told her gently, sitting next to Santana and bumping her forehead gently to Marley's. It was a safe space that gave Marley a type of consistent comfort.

"Marley baby," Santana said gently. "Are you scared you were bad?" she asked and Marley shook her head. "Are you sure, because you keep telling me you're a good girl and that you want me to stay."

"I good," Marley whimpered.

"You are baby, you are a very good girl. Can you tell me what you are afraid of?" she asked.

"Mommy day," she pleaded.

"I'm not going anywhere right now sweetheart, I promise," Santana told her and she felt Marley's hand grip tighter around her neck and her finger twisting around a lock of Santana's hair. "But Mama is right, I do have to go to work, so that's what we have to prepare you for. I would have started preparing you sooner, but I didn't want to pull you too far out of your comfort zone. You my love, have worked very hard and needed a break, and for you that meant being a very young girl." Marley whimpered and closed her eyes.

"I good Ana, I good," she said.

"Ana?" Rachel asked with confusion.

"Shhh, Marley baby, look at me sweetheart. Santana, Mommy Santana, loves you no matter what. You are a very good girl. You've worked very hard and made amazing progress, this is just another step in that progress and I will not leave you alone. That is why Mama Rachel wanted to show you the map. We want you to know what is going to happen, give you the time line and make sure you are aware of as much as possible, because we love you so much," Santana explained. "You can call me Santana if you want to sweetheart, but you can call me Mommy too. It's your choice, okay?" she asked her gently.

"Mommy," Marley cried and she cried herself to sleep against Santana's body, trembling and shaking as her mind flooded her dreams with horrible memories of her past.

_"See sweet cheeks, no one is ever going to want you. You're not worth anything. You can't move, you can't walk, you can't talk. You're nothing but a helpless little baby, and no one wants a baby they can't hold, and rock, and cuddle, and love. You're not lovable. You never were," Terri told her, keeping her eyes blind folded, a knees pressed back to her shoulders, a strong bar across her ribs and something was being pushed in and out of her tight little pucker, repeatedly. "Pretty soon, you won't be able to hold anything except a very large dick. I'm going to make sure that you're only able to take in the largest of every dick out there. From now on, you'll only eat, sleep, and fuck. Doesn't that sound fun?" Terri cooed as she shoved the plug deep into Marley's ass, making the girl scream and she jumped in her sleep, screaming quietly._

"No Baba," she cried, tears pouring down her face as she gripped tight to Santana.

"Shhh, you're okay Marley, you're Mommy's good girl, a very good, brave, strong girl Marley, and I'm so proud of you," Santana said kindly and Marley started to rest again. She cried herself to sleep ten minutes later. She was warm and clammy, her head resting tiredly on Santana's shoulder, her grip still death like, even in sleep.

"First of all, who is Ana, secondly have we figured out what a Baba is yet?" Rachel asked.

"I'm Ana, I think, and no we don't know what a baba is, but she still doesn't want one," Santana said and Rachel sighed.

"You're not Ana, you're Mommy," Rachel said.

"And right now, she isn't comfortable with that, because she's upset about something that she is having a great deal of difficulty communicating. So until she decides otherwise, I'm Ana," Santana said.

"I wish I could do more for her," Rachel said.

"We're doing what we can," Santana smiled at her.

"Okay, well what am I going to do tomorrow when you're gone, and she freaks out, and you aren't here, and I don't know what to do?" Rachel asked.

"You will figure it out, just like I've figured it out, along the way, and if you absolutely have to you can call the club and I can come home. I'm not actually performing the session, it's just a refresher course. Like a rehearsal," she said.

"You can't just leave a rehearsal," Rachel pouted.

"Hey, look at me," Santana said kindly, but seriously. "If I didn't think she was in good hands, I wouldn't leave. If I didn't think you could handle this, I wouldn't have set this up, it's why I asked you before I committed. And if you repeat this, I will kill you, but you're the first choice over Lady Hummel."

"Why is that?" Rachel asked raising an eyebrow.

"Because unlike Lady Hummel, when she gets out of hand, and she most likely will, you will put her in time out," Santana explained and Rachel frowned. "Berry, I mean it!" Santana said strongly. "She can not think that because I'm not here, my rules don't exist. She wanted to be a little girl, and now she's my little girl, and my little girl will have rules, to follow and if she doesn't, time out," Santana said.

"She's going to be too busy, hyperventilating and crying for her Mommy, but I promise, to put her in time out, if she misbehaves," Rachel said.


	13. Chapter 13

**Happy Sunday Everyone!**

**I want to say thank you for the kind words in reviews and PM's that have been sent to me. They are absolutely appreciated. As always special thanks to Nayafan, UnholyUnderBoob, and Beaner008 for their inspiration and encouragement. I don't think I've said that yet. I ran a test chapter by them, to see what they thought and was told that yes I should post it. It's still very frightening to me sometimes, but now that I'm this many chapters in I kind of have to finish the story, :)**

**Warnings: Squick factor is 8 - 10 depending on the type of person you are. There is a scene at the club where Santana works. There is a rather intimate description of what happened to Marley and what is currently happening to the client, so you've been warned. Huge anal play section, let's just phrase it that way.**

**There is also texting in the chapter, and that is listed as bold and italicized text.**

**If you haven't reviewed PLEASE do so for this chapter, because this was the one I was most nervous to post up till this point.**

**Thanks for your time - Happy Sunday!**

* * *

The next day had been very trying for everyone. Santana purposefully did not ask Rachel or Kurt for help with anything. She knew that Marley trusted them, but she had to spend as much time with Marley as she could so that she could reassure her that she would be back later that evening.

From the moment Marley woke up, she'd been crying. "No go Ana, no go," she pleaded.

"Marley my love, you don't have to be a big girl if you don't want to. You can be baby Marley, or little girl Marley, or whatever you want to be, and Santana will always support you," she said kindly. If she was being honest, she would have told Marley she missed being called Mommy, but from day one, Santana told her she could call her whatever was easier for her. She wasn't sure if she had changed because she was scared, or because she thought growing up would make Santana stay home. Either way, she was wrong, Santana had to go back to work, the longer she waited the worse it would be.

"Ah, mmm, Mommy," Marley stammered, not sure what to call Santana anymore, her entire body trembling.

Santana sighed and picked up her pacifier and put it in Marley's hand. "This is for you, if you feel it will help relax you. I want you to just breathe with me, so you can talk to me when you want to," she said kindly and pet Marley's face to help her focus and breathe. After a minute, Marley was calm.

"Ana, I good," Marley said small tears leaking down her cheeks.

"Marley you are very good and I'm not leaving forever, I'm only going to work for a little while. You will not be left alone. You're going to be with Kurt and Rachel, just like we promised. I told you a long time ago that I would never leave you with people you didn't know, and that I will always protect you and come back for you," Santana told her and then pulled her in for a hug. "Marley, I love you, no matter what."

"Mommy," Marley said softly and cuddled into the hug, glad to be in a familiar position.

"Now, let's sit down and go over details so you know exactly what is going to be happening today okay?" she asked. Marley nodded and gripped Santana tighter. She just wanted to know that she wasn't being left alone. They'd said it a million times by now, but she still didn't believe them. She needed to know it was true and she just couldn't bring herself to accept it.

* * *

It was three thirty and Marley had decided she felt safer being much younger than usual. She was probably around age two if Santana was guessing correctly. Her pacifier had been in her mouth since she finished lunch, and she only took it out to take a drink, and that was only when she was strongly encouraged to do so.

Santana was currently in the shower and Rachel was sitting with Marley on the couch. "I love cuddling with my sweet girl," Rachel told her and Marley snuggled in closer carefully putting Rachel's hand on her belly, to encourage her to rub it. "Marley honey, do you want to look at Santana's book one more time? Do you think we should? I want you to know for sure what's going to happen tonight. Are you ready for that?" Rachel asked gently rubbing her belly and Marley sucked harder on her pacifier. "When you're ready sweetheart," Rachel assured her.

Marley nodded a few moments later and Rachel pulled out the note pad and a little clock that Santana had bought, to help Marley understand a little better. "Who's in the shower my love?" Rachel asked her gently.

"Mumma," Marley said around her pacifier.

"Okay, so Mommy is going to go to leave for work at four thirty, to be there at what time, do you remember?" she asked.

"Eye," Marley said holding up five fingers.

"Oh so sweet, and oh so smart. I'm very proud of you Marley," Rachel praised. "Now, when Mommy gets to work at five, she is going to be there for two hours, which means she will finish work at what time?"

"En'en," Marley told her tears running down her face. She didn't want Santana to leave. She was convinced that she wouldn't come back and that terrified her.

"Correct, and then as long as the trains run on time, Mommy will be back home at nine o'clock at the very latest. Sometimes the trains and the buses are very slow and take extra time," Rachel explained, which was the same thing Santana had explained four times the day before and twice in the morning. Rachel was trying her hardest to be consistent.

Santana was now out of the shower and went into her bedroom, listening to Rachel speak and Marley babble. She liked that Marley sounded better with things. They'd been constant and consistent, and it seemed to be working, which was a great relief to Santana. She was more nervous about leaving Marley than she cared to admit. She stepped out of the bedroom in a pair of hunter green sweats and a black tank top. Beneath that, was an outfit she didn't think Marley was ready to see yet. Marley viewed her as a true mother. The person who took care of her, made sure she was well taken care of, and was setting examples. She didn't think Marley should see the black lace corset and fishnet stockings underneath at the moment. She stepped into the living room and smiled. "Hi," she said kindly and softly.

"Mumma!" Marley smiled around her pacifier and reached for her carefully.

Santana moved in front of her and pulled her little girl into her arms. "There's my lovely Marley. Are you and Mama Rae going over the time schedule again?" she asked. She nodded and hugged Santana tighter. "I'm glad. I want you to be very well prepared, so I'm glad we wrote this out together," Santana told her and then she rubbed Marley's back and Marley tensed up. Santana smiled and lowered her voice, whispering in her ear. "Should Mommy change you?" she asked and Marley nodded, blushing hotly. "Okay, let's find Teddy Bear and get my sweet girl all clean again," she told her lovingly.

* * *

With several last kisses, two tight hugs, and one quick story, Santana left for the club. She got onto the bus and tried not to think about anything at all, but seated across from her was a woman with her two little children, and both were excitedly telling her all about their day at school and after care. She listened intently to the mother speaking ot her children and Santana smiled. She would have said a few of those same things to Marley if she had been speaking with that much animation and energy. She pulled her coat a little tighter around her body and then got off at her stop, going up to the agency, where Nicole promptly stood up and gave her a bone crushing hug. "My God, I've missed you," Nicole told her and Santana let out a little giggle, hugging her tightly in return.

"I missed you too Nicole," she smiled and finally Nicole relinquished the hug and went to the front desk, sat down and smiled, handing Santana the client's chart.

"Miss Mercy is going to be back from break shortly. She went to the starbucks around the corner to get some teas and coffees for the office. "She told me to call her if you decide you want anything special, otherwise you get your triple mint, venti latte, with extra whip," Nicole smiled. Santana raised both eyebrows and a smile crossed her face.

"Buttering you up, are we?" Beth asked teasingly from behind her. Santana turned and gave the woman a tight hug. "I've missed you here my girl," Beth said rubbing her back gently and giving her gentle smacks to her bottom. "I can see you're nervous, was it hard to leave?"

"Incredibly. She was in tears when I left but Rachel said she'd call the club if she wasn't calm in an hour."

"An hour Miss Rivers? That seems a little too long to me," Beth commented.

"It does seem like a long time, but we've learned that she's learned how to control her breathing and after an hour she'll either pass out or hyperventilate. I should be getting a text soon to inform me of what's going on," she explained and the phone to the club rang. Santana practically jumped out of her skin. "Eve's Garden," she said. "Yes she is, hold on please," Nicole said and turned to the two women behind her.

"It's for you Miss Rivers, it's Miss Mercy," she said and then Santana's phone buzzed. She checked it and breathed a sigh of relief.

**_"She's laughing and smiling, have a good session ~ R"_**

"Hello?" Santana asked picking up the phone.

"Well well well, Miss Rivers, it's wonderful to finally hear from you."

"You as well Miss Mercy, will you kindly get your ass back here. I want my coffee," Santana said smirking and Beth shook her head and gave her a firm smack to her bottom.

"Fresh!" Beth scolded.

"Getting into trouble already?" Miss Mercy teased.

"It's entirely your fault. Do you need help? I'll come down and help you bring all the coffee up," Santana offered.

"No, no, I'm nearly there, I just wanted to make sure you were there and in your proper headspace. Nearly everything has been prepped so you just have to sit in, but I am concerned for you. I make them beg, you know that, and you've heard a lot of cries lately from what I've been told."

"I have, but it's why I chose you. I need to learn the difference again and I know it exists," she said.

"Alright then, I will see you soon," she said and the two disconnected.

* * *

Miss Mercy was a tall woman, flowing red hair, long muscular legs, and today she was dressed in a tight red corset that had little roses up and down the side. Her real name was Danielle Travers, and she lived uptown in an upper east side apartment that had a view of Central Park.

"Tana, you're freaking out, breathe," Danielle smiled.

"It's the first time back, and truth be told, I miss my little girl and while I know that I have a text stating she's fine, I'm concerned that she's freaking out worse than I am, and I'm not being told so I can stay here and get back to work."

"Well I know how hard that is for you to admit how nervous you are, but just remember, it's only a refresher course, you don't have to stay, and they named me Miss Mercy for a reason. He is going to beg."

"Ugh, a he? Really? Why do all the boys go for hydro sessions? I don't understand that. They get all up in arms when we want to stick something into their ass, but heaven forbid we tell them, you're not putting that in me. Then they call us cowards," Santana ranted as Danielle ran scalding hot water into a rather large red enema bag.

"Hand me that thermometer please," she said reaching for the bag's stopper herself and trying not to laugh too loudly at Santana's rant. Santana handed her the thermometer and she put it in the water and waited a few second. "That seems good. I'm not doing this till the end, it'll be warm by then," Danielle said, thinking out loud, more than talking to anyone specific.

Santana was quiet for a while and then looked at Danielle. "You're not going to go easy because of me are you?" she asked her.

"What does that mean?" Danielle asked her.

"I mean you're not going to go light on him, because I'm here. You're known for making them need to scream, and I need to hear screaming. I need to know the difference again, because I don't now. You can't go light Dani, not even a little bit, I mean it," Santana said.

"Are you trying to pull rank?" Danielle asked hearing a sternness in Santana's voice.

"No, I'm just telling you don't go light."

"Sounds like an order to me, and you better be careful about that, because if I think you are ordering me around, or you are trying to pull rank on me, which you can't, then I will go straight to Miss Beth, and you my darling girl, will be the one screaming," Danielle said and she punctuated her statement with a kiss to Santana's lips. "God I miss kissing you," she said when the kiss finally broke.

"Pervert," Santana smiled, gave Danielle a simple kiss, in return, and the girls went to finish setting up the room.

Danielle walked into the large room and dimmed the lighting a little bit. The walls were mostly maroon in color, with a large mirror on the far wall, white curtains around the fake windows, a large medical bed off to the left of the door, and then an IV Pole just to the right of the bed. Danielle hung the enema bag on the pole and turned to look at Santana. "You, my dear girl, need to change," she said and went to the closet and began rooting through the clothes. "Here," she said pulling out a nurse's outfit. "Put this on," she said handing it to her.

Santana looked at the outfit and carefully shimmied into it. "What, no cap?" she asked teasingly.

"Coming up next," Danielle said with a serious face and hid her laughter as Santana's jaw dropped in shock. She had been teasing, but Danielle was apparently completely seriously. "So, while you get dressed, I'm going to give you a background. Jackson is coming in today. He, is a very wealthy wall street broker, who is finally married to his partner of sixteen years, and it appears that hubby, is a very big boy," she said with a little smile.

"So, what, he's here to be," Santana said slowly, not sure how to finish that sentence.

"Cleaned out and stretched," Danielle smiled. "This is his description of what he wants," she said handing Santana a paper.

"Dear Miss Mercy,

My name is Jackson Clemens and I'm writing to you, because I've been told you were the best Mistress the club has. My husband is very endowed. He and I have been together for sixteen years, but I've never been able to submit to him as fully as he can submit to me and I no longer feel it fair that after so long together, I can't let him penetrate me more than an inch or two at most. When I heard about your club, I thought you might be able to help. My main concern is to be able to submit to him fully. They told me not to hold back in this letter. I want him to put his rock hard dick inside me, so he gets to experience the same pleasures I do, when he submits to me. The most I can take is a finger, or sometimes two. I'm not afraid of him, but to let him inside me, I am not able to handle that, and for that reason alone I have chosen to come to your club. I'm hoping that with time and effort, you will be able to help me submit to my husband, so that I can reciprocate his actions towards me. He does know I'm doing this. I have discussed this at length with him and I want to make it quite clear that I am doing this of my own free will. I don't want you to think he's forcing me. I look forward to you getting back in touch with me when you have free time.

Sincerely,

Jackson Clemens.

"That's intense," Santana said looking up at Danielle.

"It is. He's going to scream, I'm going to make him. I have a list of what I can and can't touch and the can't list is very short. No fisting and no teasing," Danielle said.

"That's it? That's your no list?"

"That's it," Dani grinned.

"So you're going to make sure that he screams right? Because based on this letter, he's not going to like this," she said.

"Yes, I am, and yes he will, and yes you are correct. I will make him scream. What I need you to do, Miss Rivers, is be sure to sit quietly in the corner. If he gets to a point where his cries remind you too much of your little girl, then I want you to just get up and quietly step out of the room," Danielle explained.

"Okay," Santana agreed and she took a deep breath.

"You ready?" Danielle asked.

"Almost, by the time you get back, I'll be ready," Santana said seriously.

* * *

Danielle met Jackson up in the lobby and smiled at him. "Jackson, come with me please," she told him. He stood up nervously, adjusted his tie and jacket, brushed out the invisible wrinkles in his pant legs and then held his hand out to Danielle to shake it.

"I'm Miss Mercy and from now on, that is all you're going to refer to me as," she informed him seriously. "You have been told that there will be another mistress in the room. Miss Rivers is not going to be involved in your session, she will simply watch. You're going to be kind and respectful to her and if you are rude in any way, I will punish you, spank you, as we discussed in our previous conversations and as you experienced in your last session," she said sternly.

He gulped and nodded and with a smile she took him back to the room. She took him into the back room and guided him to the bed. "Say hello to Miss Rivers," she ordered him.

"Hello," he said politely.

"Miss Rivers," Danielle said scolding Jackson for dropping the title.

"I'm sorry, hello Miss Rivers," he said this time and Santana simply nodded at him.

Once pleasantries were exchanged, Danielle took his hand and guided him to the bed. "Sit down," she said and he did as asked while she got on a pair for blue rubber gloves and placed her hands on his thighs. Santana sat off in the corner, not really paying too close attention to what was going on around her. Her nerves were starting to take over, so she tried to do some breathing of her own, and she was pulled out of her thoughts when Jackson let out a little whimper.

"Close your eyes Jackson," she told him sternly and he listened. "I want you to take a deep breath and think only of your husband and no one else. I want you to see him in front of you, smiling at you, touching you, loving you," she said and Jackson nodded, but after a few moments, he opened his eyes. "Ah, ah, ah, what did I tell you?" she scolded him and he pouted. "I even gave you a homework assignment, so that you would be able to keep your eyes closed when requested. Did you now practice?" she asked sternly.

"I'm sorry Miss, I did practice. I was not successful, but I did practice. I just can't do it. I want to see what's going on."

"Oh, I see, you want, do you?" she asked.

"Yes Miss."

"Well, today, you don't get to do what you want. Today you are going to learn what it's like to do for others. I have tricks to help me, and I will use them when need be. First though, I want that ass bare and over the table, quickly," she said walking away to grab a tube from a far away drawer before going back to him. When she returned he was bent over the table, bare ass in the air, waiting for further instruction. "You followed those instructions well," she praised, rubbing his bare bottom while she spoke. "Now, we're going to give you a mild spanking to take care of you from earlier. Do you know what you did to earn this?" she asked.

"I didn't please you Miss," he said automatically and he sounded genuine.

"That was very good, but I'm speaking of specifics," she said landing a firm smack to his bottom, making him squeak. That squeak brought Santana out of her thoughts and into the present. She watched as Danielle brought her hand down sharply on his backside three more times. "Now," Danielle said sternly. "You my dear boy are going to get a blindfold placed over your eyes. I want you to think about your husband and only your husband and listen to my voice as I explain to you how we're going to go about get you to be a little more open," she said seriously.

Santana watched as Danielle moved easily throughout the room, speaking kindly and calmly to Jackson and her heart hurt a little bit. She knew that she had done that and continued to do that for Marley, but she hurt because she was sure Terri had never treated Marley this kindly. Here was this man, a gay man, trusting this complete stranger, a woman, to make him cry. It was a huge risk. She was having trouble dealing with that trust now, even though she'd explained to Marley that in the club, trust was a key factor and greatly respected. When it came to Terri, Santana was pretty sure, Terri didn't know what the word trust meant.

While Santana was lost in her thoughts, Danielle had stripped him of his pants and underwear and had him flat on his back, running her hands carefully, teasingly, up and down his thighs in order to excite him. "That's right Jackson, you just think about how much your husband is smiling at you, because he's so happy you're about to submit to him, fully, with everything you have. You give total control of your tight ass to him, the way he does to you," she crooned gently and Santana watched with a smile as Jackson's body responded.

"Ooooh, big boy," Danielle crooned sweetly as she caressed his body, making his body spring to life. "Tell me Jackson. Why did you come to see Miss Mercy?" she asked him with a smile.

"I need to submit to my husband," he said panting as she pushed a finger slowly around his opening. It was small and tight, and she noticed that the skin was very delicate and slightly cracked and dry. She gathered more lubricant that had a little more moisturizer in it and worked that into him.

"And you don't?" she asked him.

"I can't, I'm ta.. to..oooo ti, eye, eye, tight," he admitted a heavy blush creeping across his cheeks as he stammered to push out the words while his

"I see and you think Miss Mercy can help you?"

"I was told you were the best Miss," he said panting a bit as she spread some of the cold gel onto his tight little pucker, making sure he was fully greased up.

"And so it appears that your husband has sent you hear to be stretched," Danielle said.

"No Miss! No. No, I promise!" Jackson cried, panting and begging almost as he tried to communicate the truth, to ensure to Miss Mercy that he wasn't lying.

"Me thinks though doth protest too much," Danielle smiled and Santana smiled in the back in the corner, not saying anything. She became lost in her thoughts, in her memory of all the terrible descriptions in the blue folder that she'd read the first day she met Marley, and most recently over the last few days.

She'd been in the session, mindlessly thinking for about an hour when all of a sudden, Miss Mercy was getting Jackson to beg and plead, wanting the enema, not wanting it, enjoying the feeling of having a thick plug inside his ass, and also fearing it's size and the amount of "damage" it would do to his body.

"Ah, ah, ah, you must relax my dear boy. Relax your body, and just open. Open your muscles, breathe and let your husband in," Mercy coaxed.

"No, no Miss, Please! He's too big. It's too much. I'm not as big as he is," Jackson cried, feeling his erection grow painfully hard.

"I think Miss Mercy is going to spank Jackson for lying," she said gripping her hand lightly around his now fully erect cock, being sure to have a good grip on the base. "You are not tiny, and having this," she said tapping the plug lightly, "in here, is not going to hurt you, as long as you breathe and relax, and open wide," Danielle said seductively and Jackson started to have a small orgasm. Danielle didn't even bat an eye. "Now, are you going to relax and open wide for me?" she asked. "You need to take all of this water. You need to take it all, and hold it in for a minute or two, so that you will be nice and clean and ready for your husband," Danielle said and Santana watched.

Santana frowned when she saw her cell phone glow in her pocket. She looked over at Danielle and waited for an acknowledgement that it was okay to check. "Relax and open wide," she cooed softly at the poor man, lying on the table, knees tied up to his chest, plug in his ass, as warm water flowed slowly into him. His body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat and the look on his face was a mix of fear and desire and pretty soon, he was just making sounds of whining and begging. Danielle glanced toward Santana, nodded at her when Santana held up her phone, and Santana covered her phone to block out any potential glow that would get through the blindfold Jackson was wearing.

**_"She doesn't want to open wide for a baba," _**Rachel had texted so Santana quickly tapped back a message.

**_"She can't say all those words."_**

**_"She did just now, but only as part of her dream. She just woke up screaming."_**

**_"Keep her calm, I'll try to get out early, the session is nearly done,"_** she texted back and before she hit send Danielle's words made it through the fog of her brain.

"Open wide and relax Jackson. Let all the water in. Time to clean you out, make you nice and ready for your husband," Danielle cooed and in that moment, Santana's brain exploded with realization while Jackson's body exploded with an orgasm.

Santana left the room as calmly as she could and then fell to the floor, crumpled up in a small heap and sobbed. It was how Beth found her moments later. "I knew you weren't as ready as you made us believe," Beth sighed as she helped Santana to stand brought her into the office.

* * *

"Miss Susan, I need to talk to her. Please," Santana begged, reaching for some tissues to clean up her face.

"First you tell me why," Beth said seriously, sitting next to Santana taking her hand.

"She's been at it for three days now," she said and she calmly stood up and started pacing. "Three days. Three days. For three days my baby, my little girl, that innocent young lady, she was tortured," Santana ranted and Beth let her be for a moment, only breaking in when Santana paused to take a breath and wipe away her tears.

"Why do you need Miss Susan sweetheart? What is she going to be able to help you with," Beth asked.

"She's been crying and hysterical for three days and we didn't know why. We had no idea how to help, and I came back. I came back to learn the difference and instead I found out what has been torturing my little girl," Santana said, the tears falling slowly as she continued to babble.

_Marley was lying on some surface. It was firm beneath her but she didn't know exactly what it was. The blindfold was in her way. Her hands were pinned next to her side. Cuffed and shackled into a 'secure' position so Terri could change the diaper that Marley had been wearing for two hours now. "Well well well, what do we have here?" Terri said in that sick sweet voice that gave Marley shivers, once she unfolded the front of the diaper. She looked in the diaper and saw small traces of brown. So far Marley had been able to use the toilet to relieve her bowels, but apparently she'd had been left alone for too long and her body had tried to relieve itself, but Marley held it in. Unfortunately for Marley, when Terri checked the seat of the diaper, she saw the brown stains and decided to go one step further._

_"I"m sure it's nothing, but let's be sure," Terri said and Marley felt her blood run cold. She didn't know what was going to come next. Terri slipped a heavy weight across her abdomen to keep Marley still._

_"Struggle all you want sweet cheeks," she said pinching her. "If you keep struggling, you'll just break a rib, and there's nothing anyone can do about a broken rib," Terri said and she pinched Marley's other cheek, before leaning in and kissing her full on the lips, trying to be passionate, but all she did was make Marley want to throw up._

_Terri picked up a fleet enema kit and opened it loudly, and now Marley couldn't see, all she could do was hear and feel. "Baba for baby," she said and she uncapped the small nozzle and shoved it roughly into Marley's body. There was no preparation, no lubrication, except for the small amount on the applicator. She pushed it in and squeezed the contents in as roughly as she could and Marley screamed. Unfortunately for Marley, those screams turned Terri on. She pulled it out, let the bottle come back to a normal shape, tipped it so all the liquid was at the tip again and then squeezed firmly. The problem with that was as she squeezed roughly she pushed air into Marley's body and the gas was going to be trapped, causing Marley nothing but aches and pains._

_"Baby has to finish her entire Baba, or Mommy is going to be very cross," Terri crooned and Marley struggled not to cry, but all she felt was pain from the cramps, and she had to relieve herself._

_"No more!" Marley pleaded._

_"Quiet!" Terri barked pushing a pacifier soaked in vinegar firmly into Marley's mouth, locking in behind her head with a clip. "Shhh, no more screaming. No more yelling. Relax. Open wide for Baba," Terri said and she pushed the nozzle to the enema tube firmly in and out of Marley's rectum, fucking her with the bottle while the water worked on her system. It didn't take long for Terri to get bored and once Marley stopped screaming in fear, Terri got really bored. She pulled the bottle out, put on a clean diaper, taped it into position and then left Marley on the table. Her body couldn't hold onto the liquid any longer, it wasn't meant to, and it all came spilling out into her diaper. Terri had walked by at one point and sniffed. She walked into the room and pinched Marley's cheek hard again. "Don't worry sweet cheeks, I got you a new Daddy. Pretty soon, he'll be here and we'll get to start our new life," she said and with that she walked away, leaving Marley alone in her own filth._

"She broke my little girl. She's so scared of everything, and something is wrong. Something I can't fix. I understand it, but I can't fix it. I need to talk to Miss Susan to help Marley. To fix my baby," Santana said seriously.

"Alright, we will do that, but first off you have to calm down. Do what you need to do and pull it together and then I will call Miss Susan for you," she said and Santana paced, like a caged animal, trying to work out her nerves. Doctor Martinez had informed Santana that two of Marley's many sores had come from anal trauma, and in the file it listed several actions that would be defined as anal trauma. Santana figured the enema would have done it, and she could only guess it was an enema, but it was the only thing that made sense right now. The enema came in a bottle, and baba was the baby word for it, something Santana knew Terri insisted on using. Her blood boiled with anger and her body shook with anxiety. "I have to help her," she said softly.

Santana continued to pace and then pulled out her phone, checking to see why Rachel hadn't texted her back yet. When she saw the word _Draft _under Rachel's name she swore under her breath. "Calm Santana," Beth said sternly as she picked up her phone to call Susan.

Santana blushed and apologized to Beth before erasing what had been there and typing out a whole new message. "I know what it is, I'm calling Miss Susan for help. I'll be home as soon as I can," she texted and then she put her phone to vibrate and slipped it into her back pocket.

"Hi Susan, it's Beth, Santana needs to talk to you," she said and after a moment she handed the phone to Santana.

"I know what it is. I know what she's been hysterical about," Santana said in a rush.

"Calm Santana!" Beth said seriously, but Susan said those same words on the other end of the phone at the same time and Santana blushed a little bit more. It was scary how the two women were so in sync at times.

"Sweetheart, I will help you, you know that, but I want you to sit down and take a breath, so I understand everything," Susan said and with a heavy sigh, Santana sat down and did a few deep breathing exercises. She calmed herself enough and once Susan heard her breathing settle out, she began to speak. "What has she been hysterical about sweetheart?"

"She keeps crying, shaking, telling us she doesn't want a baba. We didn't know what that was. We showed her a picture of a baby bottle and she laughed, so we knew it wasn't that. But now I know. It's an enema, she doesn't want and enema," Santana said.

"That's a large jump Santana. How did you come to this realization?" she asked kindly.

"I was in a hydro session with Miss Mercy and she kept saying it. She kept telling him, he had to relax, and open wide, and just breathe, and then I got a text from Rachel and Marley woke up screaming about how she didn't want to open wide for a baba. Miss Susan that has to be it, and I don't know how to make her understand we won't give her one of those. She doesn't even know what's it's really called," Santana said getting worked up again.

"Breathe Santana. I will help you. I don't know how at the moment, so I need some time to think. Go home to your family and I will call you later once I have something figured out. However, you will not tell her she doesn't need one. If she's afraid she has to have one, it's probably because she does."

"Yes Miss, thank you," Santana said and then handed the phone back to Beth. "She said I should go home to my family and wait for her call," Santana said.

"I agree, but I have another condition. You will share everything you can with Rachel and Kurt, if they are both home," Beth said and Santana nodded. She'd been doing that already. "Including your insecurities young lady," Beth said seriously and Santana gave her a shocked look. "I know you Santana, just like I know all my staff. You don't like to share. Now up until this point in your life, that has been fine, but right now, with Marley, this is not something you should deal with alone. You had a break down in my hallway. I want you to go home and confide in someone. You need to do it, to release the stress that is building up. You have to relax so you can help Marley relax and you know what? It's really okay to have a break down." Santana sat quietly and eventually nodded her agreement.

"Good girl. Go home, and I will help Miss Mercy with anything else that she needs. I will tell her, she was a great help to you, and then I will check on you tomorrow morning," Beth said. Santana nodded, stood up, gave Beth a hug, and left the office. She had to get home.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello everyone,**

**I hope you're all still enjoying the story. I know the last chapter was pretty intense, this one isn't that bad, but still pretty graphic.**

**Warnings for this story are enemas, talk of sodomy, and periods. If there are any guys reading this story, I'm sorry if this grosses you out, but it's what girls deal with. I also know that some of you were concerned that she wasn't going to get it, or wanted to know where it was, since physically she is not a baby, Marley is a full fledged woman. That is going to be addressed in this chapter and the next several chapters as well.**

**I want all of you to know how much I appreciate your support and now I need a favor. I've come to a sticking point in my story, so you all need to say things, write things to me, and help spark the creative flow in me, because when I say stuck, I mean stuck, as in, if I don't figure out somewhere for this story to go, I"m going to hit a chapter and you're going to be left with a half ass story, and I really don't like doing things half assed.**

**As always, major major major thanks to NayaFan, UnholyUnderBoob, & Beaner008 for all their inspiration and encouragement.**

**Wishing you all well! :)**

* * *

Santana opened the door to the loft and immediately frowned. There was a disney movie on the television, Rachel was singing quietly, and there were a pile of dishes in the sink, while Kurt was walking out of the bedroom with Teddy Bear and Marley's blanket, handing it to Rachel and then went to take care of the dishes.

She immediately walked over to the couch and got in front of Marley. She crouched down and spoke softly. "Hi baby girl," she said gently and Marley immediately broke down into tears, sobbing for her Mommy, crying because she had been terrified by a nightmare and relieved that her Mommy had come home after all.

"Nice, Santana, I just got her to relax," Rachel said in frustration and Marley only cried harder.

"Shhh, you're alright baby girl, you're okay," Santana soothed as she rubbed gentle circles over Marley's back. "And you're okay too," she told Rachel. "Go, I got her," she said kindly. Rachel gave her a kiss and then went to help Kurt with the dishes. Santana moved onto the couch and Marley started to whimper and shriek. "Shhh, I'm right here baby," she said gently and pulled the girl up onto her lap. "Look, let's watch Ariel," she encouraged, but Marley whined and pushed herself further into Santana, hiding her face from the world.

Kurt and Rachel worked on the dishes and Rachel finally could take no more. She leaned into Kurt and relied on him for comfort. She was trembling with anxiety. "Hey, hey, hey, you're okay, Santana isn't mad at you. Marley just had a bad dream and she's calming down. You did really well Rach," he said kindly and she shook her head.

"She was so scared when she woke up. I didn't know what to do, or say, and I couldn't get her to calm down fast enough," she said.

"Rachel, you have to relax, you did well, I promise. I watched you. You did everything for Marley that Santana has done. You are an actress Rachel. You acted like Marley's Mommy. You managed to do for Marley, everything, _everything_, that Santana does for her. I know you don't feel it, and I know all her screaming freaked you out, but I promise you, you did a great job," Kurt insisted.

Rachel simply held on to him and cried softly, not feeling like she had done well at all. Neither of them had noticed how quiet it had gotten and Rachel didn't see Santana sneak up behind her and wrap her arms around her. Rachel let out a gasp and then looked at the hands around her waist and spoke softly. She knew who it was, just by the hands. "Where's Marley?," Rachel asked.

"She's sleeping," Santana said kindly and Kurt gave her a relieved look. Then Santana felt Rachel shake next to her. "Why are you freaking out on me troll," she said although not unkindly. Kurt replied with a kick to her calf and growled protectively. Rachel however turned around, smacked Santana's shoulder and hugged her tightly.

"If you two attempt a cat fight, I will hurt both of you severely," Kurt warned and he left them alone. He moved to the far chair in the living room to watch Marley carefully and make sure someone was with her if she happened to wake up from another night terror.

Santana kept Rachel close and the two just hugged for a while. "Is she really okay?" Rachel asked with concern.

"Apart from having been tortured for a few months, yes, she is," Santana said. "What about you?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"I," Rachel started, but then took a shuddering breath and Santana gave a sad smile. She moved them to the kitchen table, they each took a seat, and Santana took Rachel's hand, letting her take her time. "Everything was fine, and then she burst out with how she didn't want to open wide for a baba. Santana, it was crystal clear, no lisp, no hesitation, the words came flying out, and she was absolutely dead asleep, because after that she screamed bloody murder, and messed herself. I got her changed, and then tried to comfort her, but she didn't want it. She was shaking and trembling and I did everything I could think of to make her stop and she just wouldn't."

"And yet when I came home, I found the two of you sitting quietly and relatively calmly on the couch watching television," Santana pointed out.

"Lucky break," Rachel said and she wiped away her tears and sighed. "Okay, so what did you learn?"

Santana wanted to push Rachel to finish her little panic attack, but that would make her a hypocrite, so she let it go. "Kurt has to join us," she said. "Hey, Lady Hummel, come over here, this is serious," she said standing up and going over to the fridge and Rachel watched in confusion. She called him to join them and then stood up to leave. She retrieved the infamous blue folder and sat back down at the table just as Kurt joined them.

"Shouldn't one of us be over there with her?" he asked.

"Only if we hear something, but you both need to know what I think I figured out, because this is huge," Santana said seriously as she opened the folder to the right section. She took a deep breath and began to read quietly to her friends. "Patient had to be sedated for further examination to avoid further mental trauma. Patient still doesn't speak, blink, communicate, or struggle. Patient is showing minimal conditions of a catatonic teenager. Upon further investigation, we've discovered severe stretching to the lower foot of the large intestine. Muscles have lost their elasticity by seventy percent and gaining back strength shows to be about fifty percent. Patient has suffered severe anal trauma, based on the muscle bruising present in the exam," she read.

"Okay, there's only one problem with that," Kurt said and Santana looked at him carefully. "Anal trauma implies that she was at the very least sodomized, and speaking as a gay man, sodomy doesn't have to be painful," he said.

"Ew! Kurt," Rachel said covering her eyes and shaking her head.

"I'm not giving details, I'm just saying," he said trailing off a bit.

"You," Santana said taking Rachel's hand off her face, "grow up a little bit," she told her and then turned to Kurt. "And you are actually correct. Sodomy, when done right, with permission, and a gallon and a half of lotion and lubrication, won't truly hurt," Santana said.

"I'm really hoping you know this based on work experience and not personal," Rachel said softly.

"Actually," Santana said with a smirk and Rachel covered her ears with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Lalalalala," she sang softly.

"Then you shouldn't have hinted at wanting a direct answer," Santana laughed and she stood up, kissed Rachel's cheek and then moved to put the blue folder away and Rachel scowled at her, not liking the slightly condescending tone she had. "So yes, she was sodomized and from what I gather, it was with an enema, but it wasn't called that. It was a called," she said.

"A baba," Kurt and Rachel finished, putting the pieces together for themselves and Santana nodded. "So wait, why doesn't she know what it's called?" Rachel asked curiously.

"My best guess is she was blindfolded. She doesn't know what it looks like, because she won't point it out to us. She just knows what Terri called it, and I'm assuming it was a fleet kit because, they cause the most "damage" in the shortest amount of time, it's what their designed to do," she said.

"So then all the blisters and sores and bruises came from that?" Rachel asked.

"Along with whatever spankings she got, which we know she did, because one bruise was a paddle burn," Santana said nodding her head.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Rachel said and she sat there breathing a little more deeply.

Kurt took her hand and squeezed it gently. "So now what do we do?"

"We wait for Miss Susan to call me, because she deals with all the little ones, she would know, I wouldn't," Santana said honestly.

"We're not going to assure her that she won't get one?" Kurt asked.

"I don't want to promise that any more, because I have this sinking feeling that we're going to have to do it," she frowned.

* * *

Susan did some research and made sure to text Santana over the last few hours. She wanted to be sure she had as much information as possible, because this was a serious deal in her mind. She had to do two things. First she had to figure out how to tell Marley what had really happened to her and then she had to find out why Marley had remembered this particular instance. She had her suspicions, but decided not to push it. She walked into the office and sat at her computer. "Let's see," she mused and tapped out a few keys on her computer.

"What are you researching?" Beth asked walking in and smiling at her friend and coworker."

"I'm trying to figure out how to help Santana," she said.

"Ah yes, the enema dilemma," Beth smiled. "I called Santana the morning after and she had a very young Marley on her hands. That girl is traumatized and Santana is on the verge of a break down every few days. She's very stressed out and my heart goes out to her, because all she wants is to do right by Marley," Beth said and Susan nodded her full agreement. "What have you come up with so far?" Beth asked curiously.

"So far nothing. So far, it tells me how to introduce one, how to calm your child, what position to put your child in, and how much water to give them," Susan said.

"You know all of that already," Beth said frowning a bit.

"I do. I did however pick up two new tips, which I have a little one that I can test them out on, because they are very interested in enemas, but nothing about how to get my abuse victim to accept an enema," Susan said.

"Did you google it?"

"That exact phrase," Susan nodded, "and all I found out was that, women are terrible people, who abuse their power and traumatize their daughters or charges," she frowned. "Makes me want to go home and hug my kids as tightly as possible."

"You're kids are teenage boys, I'd make them shower first," Beth teased and Susan laughed.

"I really don't know what to tell Santana, but I have a feeling the reason that Marley is having these dreams because she actually needs an enema and I don't know how to make her better, without giving her one. The problem is, two fold though. I'd have to get Santana's approval, which I doubt would happen, and I have to be able to get to Marley and without Santana's approval, that's not happening."

"Well I am not being very helpful, so I will let you get back to your research and I'll talk to you later," Beth said and stood up and left.

"Oh kay Susan, find something," Susan scolded herself on a heavy sigh and went back to researching.

* * *

"Okay Marley, let's try the smaller box, can you do that for me?" Joe asked her kindly and she nodded. It had been several days since her last break down and while she wasn't nearly as upset as she had been, she was still very nervous and had decided on not saying much. Therapy had been going well though and she'd developed a lot more muscle tone than the first day Joe had met her. "I'm going to push this one out and slide this one in. It's a three second hold. You've done them before. We've been preparing for them. Are you ready to try?" he asked her.

"No," she said honestly.

"Do you want your Mommy to come join you?" he asked her kindly and she nodded. "Alright, you can call her. I won't do anything until she comes to join us," Joe assured her.

"Mommy!" Marley called out and Santana showed up a few moments later.

"Hey munchkin, what's up?" she asked.

"Mommy day, new," Marley said nodding toward the smaller box.

"Alright, I'll stay with you," Santana told her.

"You can sit here Santana. You can touch her hand, but you can't hold it. Marley, you need both your hands and knees on the floor to be sure you have all of your balance okay?" he asked and she nodded, but looked scared at the same time.

"You can do it love. Mommy's here to help you," Santana encouraged.

"And she'd kill me if I let anything happen to you on purpose. That's why we prepare you for everything. If you know what the challenges are ahead of time, you're more prepared to take them on, yes?" he asked and Marley nodded her agreement. "Okay, so practice first. Three practices to get your muscles ready and then we switch, are you ready?" he asked and after a moment of hesitation, she nodded her agreement. "Okay, so this is what you do. I want you to brace your body and then round your back, like this," he said and he demonstrated for her, showing her how to round her back. "Now remember, keep your core very tight," he told her and she nodded. "Breathe in and arch on the exhale, you can do it. Then you hold the arch for three seconds and you relax for a few moments before we try again," he told her.

Marley nodded and Joe was very diligent in coaching Marley through each practice. After three he smiled at her. "That was excellent Marley, now we're going to switch out the box. I know you're afraid, but you're going to be okay. I'm here, and your mom's here, nothing terrible is going to happen.

"No, Mommy," she corrected him kindly and he smiled.

"I'm sorry, your Mommy is here," he said and Santana held her laughter back. It was the first time that Marley had spoken up to defend her family. "So now, this time when you arch, I'm going to push this box under you. You'll just be a little closer to the ground. I want to make sure you're gaining strength in your arms and not relying on the box. You will get to rest on the new box though, okay?" he asked her. She took a moment, flexed her hand, wrapping her fingers over Santana's and then nodded at Joe that she was ready. "Alright Marley, here we go, inhale," he coached and she took a deep breath. "Good girl, exhale and hold for three seconds," he said. She blew out all the air in her lungs, rounded her back, and Joe shifted the boxes. "One, two, three," he said counting slowly, "and now I will help you lower to the box below you," he told her and he put one hand on her back and one on her stomach and helped her down to the box.

"Good job baby," Santana praised her, leaning in and giving her a kiss. Marley was now resting on the box and her arms had a lot of slack in them which made her feel a little bit strange, but she was glad to be resting.

"Okay Marley," Joe said kindly. "So now, we practice push ups," he said and Marley flashed a look of panic at Santana.

"I'm right here baby. I'm not leaving, I promise," she told her. "Maybe Mr. Joe can show us what push ups he's talking about and then you'll be able to see what's going on better," she suggested.

Joe nodded his agreement and waited for Marley to focus on him. "See Marley, this is how we are going to get you mobile. First you have to develop enough strength to hold yourself up. That comes from strong arms, strong back, strong core, and strong legs. Your back and core are doing wonderful and your legs are good because your family helps you walk when they can to get you from one room to the other. Your arms are good because we got you to start drinking for your self and playing with your toys. You're doing very well. Eventually though, you're going to have to crawl on your own. My job is to help make you a little bit more independent," he explained and she nodded. "So the push up just means that I want you to go from resting on the box to up on all fours by yourself. That's what the push up means. I promise I won't be barking at you, like the gym trainers do," he explained to her.

She nodded and looked to Santana for help. Her belly was starting to hurt her a little more, now that she was resting on the smaller box. "Mommy," she said softly looking at Santana and when Santana pet the side of her face gently she gave a smile. "Mommy, owie," she said softly.

"Should we go potty?" Santana whispered in her ear and Marley nodded. "On the potty?' she asked her and again Marley nodded. "Can Mr. Joe help me move you?" she asked getting her permission and Marley nodded.

"Buh, Mommy?" she asked softly. "Not Papa. Go way," she told her kindly trying to get her point across.

"No, you're right, Mr. Joe is not like Papa. He will leave the room and if you like I will too," she said.

"No, Mommy day," she said seriously.

"Alright love. Mr. Joe, will you help me assist Marley to the bathroom?" she asked him and he nodded. They assisted her to the bathroom and Joe left them alone and Santana helped Marley to undo her diaper and sit on the toilet. Santana noticed the small stains in the seat of the diaper, but she didn't say anything, folded it up, and threw it away. She knew what the stains represented and now she was going to have to face an entirely new set of challenges. Marley however was seated on the toilet, pushing, and straining, her body aching with the pain of a stopped up bowel and she had no idea how to relieve herself. The cramps were getting intense as well and she wasn't entirely sure what those cramps were all about. She hadn't had cramps in months.

"Mommy," she whimpered.

"What's wrong love, you're okay, I'm right here, just breathe," she told her gently.

"No baba, no baba Mommy," she pleaded and Santana's heart broke. Now she knew what that was. Now she knew why Marley was so against it. Not only was Marley having trouble going to the bathroom at all, she was about to start up on her period again, which brought on extra pain and in some people extra blockage.

"Marley, calm down baby, look at me," Santana said. "I just want you to focus that's all baby," she said and she waited, smiling as Marley breathed, trying to calm herself.

"Fi-ah Mommy, pee fi-ah," she said.

"I have to open the door and leave the room," Santana said and Marley nodded, feeling herself get more worked up. "I am so proud of you baby girl," she told her. It was the first time that Marley had out right asked for her pacifier during the day. She needed to calm down and she knew it, and over the past few days, she'd learned that it was a great help. Santana stood up, opened the bathroom door, and then closed it behind her. Marley burst into tears as soon as it was closed and Santana returned with the blue and red pacifier for her, putting it in her hand, rubbing her back, and giving her gentle kisses to her temple.

Marley shoved the pacifier into her mouth and breathed raggedly for a few moments, finally getting herself together and then looked to Santana, who was back to being seated in front of her. "Shhh, you're okay baby. You're safe, Mommy's here," she told her.

"Owie, no baba," Marley cried.

"I know lovely, I know. Just breathe a little more sweetheart. The feeling will pass, I promise and Mommy is working on finding you a solution so that you aren't in pain any more okay?" she told her and Marley nodded and leaned forward, resting her head on Santana's shoulder. She wanted comfort, as much as she could get and Santana got the message loud and clear. "I love you so much Marley, and as soon as we figure something out, we'll get you all fixed up, I promise okay? But in the mean time, when you are done here, we have to go back to therapy with Mr. Joe," Santana explained.

Marley nodded and sat back after a few moments, straining for five more minutes, before she gave up. "Done," she frowned. She wanted to go, but it hurt to push and her body seemed stuck. Santana got her a fresh diaper, helped her put it on, and then washed her hands, while Marley continued to sit and wait.

"Marley, do you remember the last time you had your period?" she asked her casually and Marley turned to look at her with panic.

"No, no, baby, no bud, baby!" she cried and burst into tears.

"And therapy is over," Santana sighed. "C'mere baby," she said and she helped her to stand up and held her close, swaying slightly from side to side while rubbing her back gently. "Shhh, you're okay sweetheart, you're okay," she told her and Marley started shaking. She couldn't be a baby if she got her period, Terri had beat it into her brain, as well as her bottom and given her a pill to help her stop her period.

_"Babies do not bleed!" Terri told her. "Take this," she said giving her a pill that Marley didn't recognize at all. _

_"What is it?" she asked._

_Terri moved like lightening, pulled Marley over her lap and spanked her firmly. "How do you speak to me?" she demanded._

_"Owwww!" Marley hissed. "Wha dis?" Marley asked giving her best baby lisp that she could manage._

_"And do you ever question me?" Terri demanded as she lowered Marley's pants and began spanking her bottom with a near by ping pong paddle, turing her bottom pink through her white underwear._

"No bud, no bud, I baby, no bud, Mommy," she begged.

"Shhh, calm down Marley, calm down, you're okay. We're going to stop therapy and we're going to sit and talk and maybe take a nap and Mommy has to skype with Miss Susan from her work," Santana told her and Marley gripped her tighter. "I know, I know, you're okay," Santana soothed and she very carefully made it to the bathroom door. She opened it up and called out to Joe. "Joe! I'm really sorry, but therapy is done for today," she said and he gave her a curious look.

"Are you sure? You almost never cancel sessions," he said. Santana gave him a kind smile and held out Marley's hand for him to see. Her fingers were trembling so violently that Joe could tell where each of the fourteen bones in them were. Everything seemed to be moving on it's own and Marley let out a strangled gasp. "Okay then," he said agreeing with her. "Now, tell me, before I leave, where would you like to go sit or lie down and would you like anything special before I leave?" he offered.

"Rachel left a strawberry protein shake in the fridge. I need that and the straw that is in the drain thing, drying. It's a crazy twisty one. Looks like a pair of sunglasses," Santana said. He got her the shake she asked for, gathered his things and then headed out. Santana kept Marley in her arms and sung her a little lullaby to help calm her. "You're my very best girl Marley and I know you hurt, but pretty soon, Mommy is going to have a solution for you," she promised her giving her kisses to her temple. She helped her drink the protein shake, despite Marley's protests and once it was half gone, Santana backed off. The two cuddled closely for fifteen minutes and then she noticed that Marley was now sleeping.

She carefully laid Marley on the couch with her head in Santana's lap so she could cuddle with her and then she carefully texted a message to Susan and waited for a reply. She then picked up the remote and turned on the television, resting and taking a nap for herself.

* * *

Kurt and Rachel got home at the same time and walked into the loft to hear Marley screaming and Santana was now cooing to a very stressed out Marley who was freaking out over a dream. "Owie!" Marley screamed and both Kurt and Rachel winced.

"Shhh, Marley, no more screaming," Santana told her and turned to see both Kurt and Rachel were now home. "Look baby, Mama Rae and Papa came home," Santana said.

"No, no, no, OWIE!" she cried and she didn't care that she wasn't supposed to scream any more. Her entire body hurt.

"I know baby, I know," Santana cooed. "Okay, I need serious help. My phone is in the bedroom. Miss Susan is in my contacts. We need to call her," Santana said seriously. "Now I think," she said and before anyone could move Marley screamed. Her bowels moved slightly and she did pass something into her diaper, but the pain of moving it out of her body was too much for her to handle and she was sure she felt something tear and she burst into tears and hung on to Santana for dear life. "Alright baby, let's get you changed, come on," Santana said after Marley stopped screaming.

Kurt feared it was going to be a long night and Rachel feared Santana was going to lose her mind. Santana's fears were much more than what was happening in the moment. She was concerned that Marley was starting her period soon. She was concerned that the reason Marley kept dreaming about being tortured with enemas was because she actually needed one and she was mostly concerned that she was going to have to get Susan up to their place to give Marley said enema. It wasn't something she wanted to even think about, but it was all part of being Marley's Mommy. It had to be done, even though it was probably the toughest thing she'd ever done, up till this point.

"Come on sweetheart, we're going to get you changed and relaxed, and then water."

"No Mommy," Marley said tears rolling quickly down her cheeks.

"Yes baby, a little water. Not a lot, but we have to get more water into you. It will make going potty not so painful," Santana said softly. "I think that's why you're in so much pain now. Come on, let's get you changed sweetheart," she said kindly and began guiding her to the bathroom.

She helped her to lay down and Marley started crying harder. "Owie, owie, owie," she whimpered as her back went into spasm, from her therapy earlier in the day.

"Rachel!" Santana called and Kurt almost pushed her toward the bathroom. Rachel appeared at the doorway and then carefully walked in. She moved over to Marley and set her hand on Marley's face, cooing softly at her, to help her calm down a little. "Teddy Bear, blanket, a movie, and a heating pad please," Santana said simply.

Rachel nodded and leaned down giving Marley a kiss to her forehead and grabbing a few tissues to help her wipe away her tears that were still falling.

"Owie Mama," she cried.

"I know baby, I know, we're working on fixing it," she said. "Stay with Mommy and I will get everything set up for you sweetheart," Rachel told her kindly.

Rachel left them alone and Marley looked up at Santana. "Mommy," she pleaded.

"Breathe sweetheart, just keep breathing. We're going to get you sorted out, I promise," Santana told her. "Tell me baby. Why is Mama getting Teddy Bear for you?" she asked her kindly trying to distract her as another wave of spasm went through her just as Santana taped her into a clean diaper.

"OW!" Marley screamed.

"Shhh, I know baby, I know, breathe for me sweetheart, breathe with Mommy," Santana coached her gently and Marley started to do as asked and the wave of pain left her. "Good girl Marley, very good," Santana praised. "Let's try again baby, why is Mama getting Teddy Bear?" she asked.

"Cudda," she said softly.

"Yes, so you can have something soft and squishy to cuddle. What else does my love want tonight?" she asked her.

"Mommy," Marley said reaching her arm up to Santana.

"I'm not pulling you up to sitting today baby. I'm going to come over you and lift you up that way okay. Keep your core tight though, it will help with your back," she said kindly and brought herself over Marley's body, wrapping an arm under her shoulders and helping her to sit up, pulling with some strength and Marley did let out a tiny whimper, but that was it. Then she leaned forward and hugged Santana tightly.

"My Mommy," Marley whimpered softly.

"Yes my love, and you're my baby," Santana assured her and she held her in a soft silence for a few moments before helping her to stand so they could go into the living room.

"There she is," Kurt smiled.

"Papa," Marley said and she leaned into him and he easily supported her weight and rubbed her back.

"I missed you baby girl," he told her and she hugged him tighter. "Mama got everything ready for you, we've got Teddy Bear, and your warm blanket, and water to drink, and Mama picked out the movie Speed," he told her and she simply leaned against him, not caring any more what was going on. She was exhausted. The spasm and Marley evacuating her bowels had taken up every last ounce of her energy. So while Kurt got Marley settled on the couch, Rachel joined Santana in the kitchen.

"You don't get freaked out over a spasm, what happened?" Rachel asked.

"Well now that we know what a baba is, I think she actually needs one, and I don't even know how we might even try to do that. I don't think I can. Not without sending her back to her catatonic state that she was in, when they brought her into the hospital."

"So then what do you need from us?" Rachel asked.

"I wish I knew," Santana said and Rachel moved quickly. She wrapped her in a bone crushing hug and didn't let go and in a very odd moment of vulnerability, Santana hugged her back.

"You'll figure it out, you always do, and while you were in the bathroom, your phone buzzed," Rachel told her. "Come on, movie and cuddle time on the couch. I think we all need it," she said.

They joined Kurt and Marley and Marley stayed cuddled against Kurt, which was what she wanted at the moment. The only condition was that Marley had to drink her water. Rachel had to conceal her laughter. Marley had Kurt wrapped around her little finger for sure. If Santana wanted her to do something that she didn't want to do, she would stay with Kurt, because he would try and get her out of it. "You can stay with Papa baby, but you have to drink some water. Not a lot, just half the glass and not all in one go," Santana told her lovingly.

"No Mommy, owie," she said.

"I know you hurt sweetheart but you need to drink the water. It'll make it hurt less later, I promise you," Santana told her and Marley whined softly. "Marley my love. You have a choice baby girl. Water now, little sips at a time out here with everyone while we watch a movie, or bed now, with Mommy, and you'll still have to drink the water, little sips at a time," Santana said firmly and before Kurt could say anything, Rachel reached discretely behind him and pinched his shoulder. She held up a finger at him and gave him as stern a look as she could muster. He was not to undermine Santana. That would accomplish nothing and she understood that.

Marley whimpered but did as asked and fell to sleep rather quickly, her head in Kurt's lap while he combed his fingers through her hair and then Rachel looked over at Santana. "Did you check your phone yet?" she asked her kindly, stretching as the credits rolled on the movie.

"No," Santana yawned.

"I'm going to bed, do you need help with anything before I do?" she asked.

"No, I'll have Papa help me, go on," Santana told her and Rachel nodded, leaned in and gave each of them a kiss before going to bed herself.

"So what did happen in the bathroom."

"She passed a rock and she had a muscle spasm and what's worse, is that I now have to figure out how to give her the thing that scares her the most, teach her it isn't that bad and get her to take it without freaking out so much that she has a freakin' heart attack and I don't have a clue."

"A heart attack?" Kurt asked.

"She's on the verge. Heart attack, panic attack, something. It's going to show up if I'm not careful," she said frowning.

"Check you're phone and then I'll help you get her to bed," he told Santana kindly.

She pulled it out and gave a slight sigh. Marley's legs were on her lap and she rubbed her calves gently to keep them from getting a cramp. She tapped into her voicemail and hung her head not liking what she had heard.

"Santana my love, I hate to break it to you like this, but I have done every bit of research I can think of to do. I read over Marley's file and as much as I know you don't want to do this. She needs an enema. The longer you let it go, the more pain she's going to be in, and then you're going to end up back at the hospital. I do have a few thoughts on how to give her one, and I wouldn't make you do that. I would offer to do it for you. I think she's going to be even more scared than we can possibly anticipate, so think about it for tonight. Only tonight honey. I need an answer. Marley needs help fast and I honestly believe, as much as I hate it, that this is how she's going to get it," Susan explained. "Sleep well my dear and call me in the morning. I'm off the next two days,"

"It's going to be a very long night," she sighed and with some very careful movements, Santana and Kurt moved Marley to their bedroom and the house fell quiet as everyone went to bed.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everyone,**

**So today is going to be Bonus Wednesday - HUMP DAY! Sorry I like the camel and that silly commercial. So, as always, thank you to all my readers for your continued support. To NayaFan, UnholyUnderBoob, and Beaner008, thank you for your inspiration and encouragement. **

**This chapter doesn't have a lot of squick in it. The warnings in this chapter are talk of enemas and one very fast mention of rape. **

**Thank you all for reading and enjoy the rest of your week. Also randomly for all the glee fans, the previews for next week's episode. I am SO thrilled, because I selfishly think this might actually help me more my story along a little more.**

**Be well friends.**

* * *

Marley woke up a few times during the night so when Rachel finally got up in the morning to see Santana sitting at the table nursing a very black cup of coffee, she frowned. "Anything I can do to help?" she offered.

"Yeah," Santana laughed. "Find me a solution where torture isn't the answer," she said.

Rachel nodded and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Where's Marley?"

"She's sleeping for now. She was up six time last night, which means I was up six times last night," Santana said and Rachel went to carry on conversation, but Santana stood up and starting pacing. "You know that I've failed right? You do know that," she said angrily and Rachel sat down with her cup of coffee watching Santana pace. "Six times and every time, she was saying she didn't want a baba, every single time, with tears in her eyes that just flowed. I couldn't take it," Santana said and Rachel went to say something, but Santana was finished, so Rachel sat quietly, to listen. "I can't do this to her. I can't make her go through something that is nothing but torturous memories for her and Miss Susan says I ultimately have no choice. How am I going to do this?" she asked staring at Rachel, who was now staring at her cup and thinking, not really paying too close attention to Santana. "I'm actually asking you!" Santana barked.

"Okay, first of all, stop yelling. You're voice is getting louder and if Marley is still sleeping, then we should let her do it. Secondly, how do you know for sure what Miss Susan does or doesn't want?"

"I actually listened to the voice mail last night, genius," Santana growled.

"Talk to me after you've had more coffee, I'm going for a shower. Don't attack anyone," Rachel said and went into the bathroom and took a shower. Kurt came out of his bedroom and looked at Santana sitting at the table, but he noticed that Santana looked angry and frustrated and scared all at the same time.

"Not to cause you any further stress, but your baby is starting to wake up," he told her and instead of getting up, she thunked her head down on the table in frustration. She was going to have to break the news within the next fifteen minutes and her cell phone chirped at that very moment. "You answer the phone, I will go see Marley," he told her seriously and walked out of the kitchen and into Santana's room.

"Papa," Marley yawned when she saw him and then he watched as her face twisted in pain.

"Hey baby girl," he smiled moving to sit on the bed next to her. She very carefully and painfully wiggled her way into Kurt's lap and put her head on his shoulder.

"No baba, pee Papa," she whimpered.

"Okay, okay, I won't give you a baba, but I want to talk to you about it okay?" he asked her and she tensed and leaned over a bit, reaching for something. He smiled and handed her the pacifier she was reaching for. "Listen to me baby, just listen okay. Easy questions. Do you hurt right now?" he asked and she nodded. "What hurts?" he asked.

"Umma," she said around her pacifier rubbing her belly gently.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Um," she said thoughtfully and took stock of her body. Her shoulders were a little sore, she had a slight headache and her feet felt a little bit swollen but nothing really bothered her as much as her stomach did. "Umma," she said again. "No baba," she said pleading with tears in her eyes.

"Okay sweetheart, nice and slow. Tell me why they are bad," he coached and Marley fell quiet, trying to figure out how to communicate this without falling apart. She didn't want to cry any more.

"Bah'k," she said.

"We can get your blocks, we'll go together okay?" he asked her and she nodded, holding on to him as he stood up and guided her into the living room. He sat down on the floor with her and she pressed her back into his chest and reached for her bucket of blocks and dumped them on the floor. Then she turned a bit to look at Kurt, waiting for him to ask a question so she could spell it out for him. "Okay sweetheart, so when you used to get a baba, what happened?" he asked her.

With trembling hands, Marley searched through her blocks and spelled the word slowly. R was the first letter and Kurt felt his blood run cold. He didn't want the next letters to follow but he breathed as evenly as he could so that Marley would feel safe telling him the rest of the word. He watched her hand and then frowned when he looked down at the spelled out word. RAPE.

"That is a very strong and ugly word Marley," he told her kindly.

"Owie," she said whimpering, taking her pacifier out of her mouth. She wanted to cry, it wasn't going to stay in her mouth, if she cried. So she set it on the coffee table.

"Yes," he said with a sad smile. "Yes, that would definitely make a lot of owie for Marley," he told her. "Do you know that that is not what is supposed to happen?" he asked her and she looked at him with a wrinkled brow. "That beautiful face tells me that you don't know that, so can Papa explain it to you?" he asked her and she looked at him questioningly. "Santana!" he called out keeping her close and Santana joined them moments later seeing a look of confusion and slight fear on her little girl's face.

"What happened honey?" she asked gently pulling Marley into her arms, rubbing her back and kissing her temple. She spotted the blocks that were still spelled out on the floor and glared at Kurt.

"No. She spelled that, not me, so back off," he said strongly and she rolled her eyes but calmed down slightly.

"Why did she spell that word?" she asked him and he saw the anger still bubbling up in her body.

"Breathe Santana," Kurt told her. "Because she was telling me that's what happened when she got a, well you know," he said.

"Yeah we need to change that word," Santana said and cradled Marley in her arms. "Marley, look at Mommy honey, it's okay," she assured her, feeling her shake. "Mommy and Papa are sometimes very fresh with each other," she told him. "It's okay though. No one is mad at Marley," she promised her and Marley very slowly looked at her, having a tough time keeping eye contact. "I know this is tough for you baby, so if you aren't ready, you let me know, but Mommy really needs to talk to you about this entire issue," Santana said.

"No baba, Mommy," Marley cried.

"Shhh, I know sweetheart, I do. I understand, but remember how a long time ago we talked about pacifiers?" she asked and Marley looked confused. "Okay, let's explain further. A very long time ago, when Mommy first met you, you were afraid of pacifiers, do you remember that?" she asked and Marley nodded. "Right and we said that the pacifier was not the scary thing, it was the bully who made them scary. The bully who took away your trust, and made it scary for you, but over time you learned that it wasn't scary and that Mommy and Papa and Mama Rae don't care if you have a pacifier with you every day," Santana said.

"Baba diff'nt. No idda. Baba owie!" Marley protested. Santana nodded her agreement and felt her heart grow with pride at how strong Marley was being right now. She was about to fight, Santana could feel it, but for now, things were calm.

"Sweetheart, that isn't totally true. First off, it's not a baba. The real word is enema," Santana told her.

"Eminem?" Marley asked trying to say the word.

"Almost," Santana smiled and she reached for the blocks. E..N..E..M..A she spelled for her, rotating the E's.

"She needs more than one set of blocks," Kurt grumbled.

"She does fine with one," Santana scolded him. "So you see Marley, you didn't even learn the right word and the way it was done to you was wrong. It doesn't work like that. It doesn't hurt the way Terri the bully made it hurt." she explained.

"No, owie!" Marley protested, wiggling in pain. "Mommy," she whimpered. "Mama ub, owie," she protested.

"Rach!" Santana called.

"Mommy needs to stop growling," Rachel scowled handing her the cup of coffee that Santana had left on table.

"Marley would like you to rub her belly," Santana said.

"Okay angel, come here," she said and Marley was carefully shifted so that her back was against Rachel's chest and Rachel was very gently and very carefully rubbing clockwise circles on her stomach, starting small and then making them progressively larger as time passed.

"Mommy," Marley said softly after a moment. "Eminem," she said.

"Enema baby, yes, that's what we think you need, but that is most definitely not what you got," she said.

"Fi-ah," Marley demanded reaching weakly for her pacifier that was nearby on the coffee table.

"Manners," Santana scolded.

"Pee Mommy," she said.

"Yes, here you go," she said handing it to her. "So I'm not going to lie to you baby. It's not the most pleasant thing in the world, and you are going to be scared, and it might hurt a little bit in the beginning, but if you don't have one, you may end up back in the hospital and they won't go slow with you at all," Santana told her honestly.

"No baba," Marley cried wiggling uncomfortably in Rachel's arms.

"No baby, no baba, because it isn't a baba. It's an enema and all it does is clean you out," Santana said trying to explain it, however Marley was as stubborn as the rest of her family so she wasn't paying attention and Kurt could tell it was starting to get to Santana that she couldn't reassure her baby that they wouldn't hurt her.

"Marley look at Papa," he said jumping in. "Do you remember a little while ago baby?" he asked gently. "Do you remember that Papa said he was going to explain things to you, about how it worked and explain that it may not hurt?" he asked her.

"NO BABA!" she screamed, worming away from Rachel. Her back locked out in spasm and she screamed in fear and pain. She couldn't work out why they were going to force her to have this, and they couldn't understand why she wasn't focusing.

Santana wanted to send her to the corner. She wasn't supposed to scream. Instead, Rachel jumped in and looked at Kurt. "Hold her," she told him and then stood up and dragged Santana away to the kitchen. "If you want to yell and scream now is the time. I will take care of her and you go do anything you want. Two hours minimum. Get out of the house Santana, get away from this. Take a breath for yourself. You need the break before it starts and I promise you as soon as she's done freaking out, we will go over the screaming rule and I will put her in the corner," Rachel told her.

"I can't leave when she's freaking out like this," Santana said and Rachel gave her a look, but Santana held up her hand. "If I leave when she acts out, she may think that is why I left. I don't want her to think I'm leaving because of what she did, ever," Santana said strongly.

"No baba, no baba!" Marley yelled, drumming her heels weakly into the floor, once the spasm passed, trying to get away from something and having a full out tantrum.

* * *

Santana sat in the bedroom rocking Marley in her arms, humming a tune, she didn't even recognize, but she had to do something to get Marley to relax and calm down. Once she was calm, Santana gave her a kiss and settled her down to sleep. She finally went to sleep and Santana slipped out of the bedroom. "I need to get out," she announced.

"You are not leaving that little girl with us," Kurt said.

"Why not?" Rachel asked in confusion.

"Kurt! I need a break! I need to get out for a couple hours and then come back," Santana growled at him.

"Why?" he growled back her.

"Oh for the love of," Rachel sighed and left the two of them to fight it out and snuck closer to the bedroom to be sure that Marley didn't wake up during the fight.

"Why? You're seriously asking me why?" she asked in anger. "You have got to be kidding me. you get out all the time. You aren't the one who stays home all day long with her. I'm stuck in baby world. And now, now I'm stuck in a situation that scares the shit out of her, and me, and I have to force her to do something that terrifies her, so excuse me, if I need a break!" she snapped and with that she stormed out of the house.

Rachel heard the door slam and Marley jumped, but Rachel kept her calm and then left the room once she was sure Marley was truly sleeping. Then she walked over to Kurt and kept her voice calm. "What was that all about?" she asked him.

"She left," Kurt said and Rachel nodded.

"Yeah and?" Rachel asked him.

"She got up and left. She left us here with a very scared little girl, that we know nothing about handling at the moment," he said getting aggravated.

"Yeah, and neither does Santana. What's your point?"

"Santana is her mother. Santana is the one that she wants and needs and has to have at all times and now she's not here," Kurt said getting all riled up.

"You love her," Rachel smiled, crossing her arms over her chest and smiling happily at him.

"You're looking at me funny and putting words in my mouth," he said defensively.

"You do. You absolutely do and you're scared. You are her Papa. You love her and you want everything good for her, and you don't know how to do that and you're scared because for some small amount of time, you and I are going to have to be the ones in charge and you don't know how to discipline her. You love her and you're scared," Rachel said sounding very sure of herself and triumphant.

"You are a terrible friend," he scowled but he wasn't forceful. Rachel had hit everything exactly and he didn't like that he was that transparent. He decided that he didn't want to deal with Rachel at the moment and if Marley woke up and Santana wasn't there, then he wasn't going to be able to do deal with that either, so he went into the bedroom and closed the door. He was done for the day as well.

Rachel decided to take a break for herself and sat down at the kitchen table and decided to read something instead of thinking about how to help Marley. She was too close to the forest to see the trees as far as she was concerned.

* * *

Four hours later, Santana was back from her little outing, Kurt came out of the bedroom, and Rachel cooked up dinner for everyone, while Marley was still sleeping. "She's been out for a really long time, should we be worried?" Kurt asked softly.

"She's fine," Santana said simply.

"Okay, so how was your walk, or whatever you did?" Kurt asked trying to extend and olive branch.

"I went downstairs and sat next to some drunk guy. I didn't go anywhere. I couldn't leave because someone's words were in my head," she said narrowing her eyes at him.

"Apologize to Santana," they heard Rachel say and Santana laughed.

"You would be a very interesting Mistress. You sure you only want the Broadway gig?" she asked.

"I'll let you know," Rachel said dryly and then turned to Kurt. "Please apologize Papa," she told him and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry I accused you of walking out," Kurt said.

"I don't know what to do. I can't sit and listen to it so much, but I have to," Santana started.

"Hey, Mommy lady," Rachel said walking over and bumping their hips together. "Just say thank you and then you can vent to us," Rachel said.

"Who made you boss all of a sudden?" Kurt challenged her kindly.

"I'm the Mama," Rachel said and Santana playfully smacked her hip as Rachel turned on her heel and danced her way over to the refrigerator.

"Well if you want the title, then you can have it. I don't know what to do. I know what I have to do, but I don't know how to do it without sending her into a heart attack," Santana sighed.

"Have you talked to Miss Susan?" Rachel asked kindly, pulling three beers from the fridge and passing them out once she popped off the caps. They each took a long pull and then heard Marley waking up in the other room.

Santana got up and went into the other room, smiling at Marley as she entered. "Hey princess," she grinned.

"Mommy," she said.

"Hi baby girl, how are you feeling?"

"Owie," she said and Santana sighed, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Marley baby. I know you're scared and I know you don't want one, but tomorrow, you and Mommy are going to get you all fixed. You'll be allowed to cry and scream and be as loud as you want, but I promise you that this is the only way you're going to stop hurting and Mommy wants her baby to stop hurting more than anything," Santana said.

Marley burst into tears and managed to carefully wiggle her way into Santana's lap. Santana gathered her close and Marley let out heart breaking sobs. Santana murmured gently to her and let her get it out of her system, rubbing her back and kissing her temple. "It's not punishment baby. It's not to hurt you in any way. It's to help you feel better because I know you are in so much pain. We have to make sure you are taken care of, because as much as it hurts now, it's only going to get worse and then I'm going to have to take you to the hospital, and I don't know about you, but I'm kind of sick of that place. This feels more like home doesn't it?" she asked and Marley put a death grip on her. "I love you baby girl. Mommy loves you so much," Santana said, little tears running down her cheeks as she spoke to try and calm her love.

Kurt and Rachel let them be for a moment, and then went to help out. Rachel had a few slices of pizza on several plates and Kurt had Marley's protein shake as well as Santana's beer. Rachel got on the bed behind Santana and smiled at Marley. "It's very scary isn't it baby?" she asked her gently and Marley gave a soft whimper as a yes. "I'm so sorry that you're so scared my love. How about we don't think about that right now. How about we let Mommy hold you and Papa can help you drink, and Mama will help feed you and all you have to do is just sit with us," Rachel suggested. "I'll help feed you and Papa can help Mommy, because it's hard to feed yourself when you're using two hands to hold our beautiful baby girl," Rachel said and Marley thought for a moment. She moved back a bit and looked at Santana.

"Papa?" she asked her.

"As long as he is nice to me, he can feed me. I know that a few days ago Mama fed me while you slept against me," Santana said honestly.

"Marley, do you think I would ever be mean to Mommy?" Kurt asked and she turned her head and leaned toward him a bit to take a sip of her shake.

"No," she said. "Mommy. Papa kay. Papa he'p Mommy," she said.

"And what will Mommy do?" Santana asked curiously giving her a kiss to her temple.

"Ho'd me pee," Marley said.

"Alright, I think I can manage that, but you have to let Mama feed you too okay?" she bargained. Marley nodded and went back to resting her head on Santana's shoulder and quietly opened her mouth for Rachel, so she could be fed.

The little family ate in silence and Kurt alternated between feeding himself, Santana, and helping Marley drink. Santana knew when Marley stopped eating because she didn't feel Marley's chin jarring gently into her shoulder any more. "Tomorrow baby girl, we are getting you fixed. I don't know how or where just yet, but we have to," she said

"Too late Mommy," Rachel said softly. "She's sleeping."

"Come on, we'll all get ready for bed and then Rachel and I will help you brainstorm. We came up with an idea we think might help," Kurt said.

* * *

Santana had talked to her room mates and friends, made a phone call to Miss Susan, set everything up, and then tried to go to sleep. Every time Marley whimpered in her sleep, Santana would pet her hair gently and after a few moments, she would go back to sleep, but that was how Santana spent her night, watching over Marley, afraid to close her eyes, or be sleeping so soundly that she wouldn't be able to sooth Marley's raw nerves. Marley on the other hand was battling her own demons.

_Terri was right in front of her, ordering her to move, and oddly Santana was holding her. "Come here now!" Terri screamed and behind her Marley heard the sweet and reassuring voice of Santana._

_"You're safe here Marley, it's okay," she heard her say._

_"Mommy," Marley said softly._

_"That's right, I'm your Mommy, now get over here. These people don't love you, they never have, they never will. No one can love you but me, now get over here!" Terri screamed and Marley just looked at her. "Stalling?" Terri asked raising an eyebrow and she walked over to Marley and smacked her face. Marley's head spun and her cheek collided with Santana's shoulder. "See what you made me do? Do you see how bad you are? You need to be taught lessons. You are nothing but a terrible little girl, who is simply a freak show. You need to be taken home and punished for everything you did wrong," Terri said._

_"Shhh baby. Mommy's here, you're okay," Santana told her lightly brushing her thumb over Marley's bruised cheek._

_"You don't get to listen to her," Terri growled and she pulled Marely roughly to her and smacked her bottom so hard, blood started pouring out of her body and into her diaper. It pooled on the floor, around her ankles, and pain shot through Marley's body. "I thought I told you, babies, don't bleed!" Terri screamed. "You're not a baby, you're not sweet, you're not loved and you never will be. You are nothing but a little freak and no one will ever love you!" Terri screamed._

_"Shhh, Mommy's here Marley. Mommy has you, you're okay as soon as you're ready, I'll change you," she heard Santana say gently, but she didn't know where she was anymore. She just heard her voice and tried to hang on to it._

_"She doesn't love you. None of them do. I told you before, you're only a little slut, who we have to teach. You need to be stretched and open to take any man at any time, maybe several at the same time. You're nothing but a little slut," Terri said and she slapped Marely's face again. The pain connected this time though, and a loud cracking sound went through Marley's brain. She let out a scream and Terri quickly grabbed her keeping her close and shaking her. "Do you hear me! Nothing but a little lazy slut!" Terri was screaming. "Do you hear me, do you hear me!"_

"She doesn't hear me," Santana said with a bit of panic.

"Keep talking, and hold on," Rachel grouched walking to the bathroom, to get herself a band aid. She'd heard Marley scream out in her sleep and in her journey to go help, she stubbed her toe on the door jam, smacking her hand on the wall, stopping at the doorway.

"Do you hear me baby? Mommy's here. Just wake up sweetheart. Wake up and look at Mommy," she coaxed, trying to rouse Marley from her dream. Marley let out a whimper and then a scream. Rachel returned a few moments later and sat down on the bed. She laid next to Marley so she was sandwiched between both women. She pet her face carefully on one side while Santana pet the other.

_Marley saw Terri standing in front of her and all of a sudden she was on a hard surface and couldn't move very far. The heavy bar was over her ribs and something was brushing over her face. "Mommy would never hurt you," she heard and she let out a scream. She never wanted to call Terri Mommy. Terri was not a Mommy. Terry was a terrible lady and she turned her head long enough to see Rachel trapped in the corner. Her face was bruised and she was fighting against bonds to get to Marley. "Oh, did you find her? Do you see your Mama?" Terri asked and Marley moaned. Terri wasn't supposed to know Rachel, much less tie her to a chair, and Marley struggled. "No way I'm letting you near her," Terri said. "She came to save you, but she can't!" Terri said._

_"MAMA!" Marley screamed, straining against her bonds, not caring about her own body. Terri was an awful person and there was no way Marley was going to let Terri hurt Rachel._

"That's new," Rachel said caught by surprise at Marley's outcry.

"Shhh, Mama's right near you honey. Just open your eyes for me," Santana said gently.

_"You're not getting to her. Not a chance in hell and I'm going to do to her everything I do to you. I'll have two baby sluts to take care of. No one will save you and now she can't save you either," Terri stage whispered. "Maybe I should stretch her out like I stretched you out," Terri said and Marley screamed in frustration, trying to kick and get away from Terri to try and help Rachel._

_"MOMMY!" Marley screamed out._

_"She can't hear you. No one can hear you Marley and now, before I go over to torture her, you need a baba," Terri said._

Marley let out a scream and jolted herself awake. "Mama, mama, mama!" she panted trying to reach out and get to where Rachel was, which she thought was at the other end of the room. "Mama!" she repeated.

"Shhh, I'm right here baby," Rachel told her. Santana moved in behind her to hold her, while Rachel jumped in front of her, petting her face and trying to rouse her from her sleep. Marley blinked a few times and Rachel used the pads of her thumbs to stroke Marley's cheeks and temple, while cupping her face gently. "Shhh, I'm right here love," she said

"No, Mama," she panted, blinking away her tears and gulping to catch her breath.

"Yes baby. Yes. It's me. Mama's here, you're okay. I'm right here, and you're safe," Rachel told her and she searched her eyes in order to figure out if Marley was focused and paying attention and all she saw was confusion.

"Mama," Marley said quickly and leaned into her, holding on tight, in an awkward position.

"Mama's here love. Let's get you into a more comfortable position," Rachel said pulling her into her lap and as she did, Santana slipped out of the room to get some water for Marley. "Marley baby, did you have a bad dream?" she asked and Marley nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?" she offered.

"No," Marley said. "Mama, no baba, an' Mama, you ayff," she told her panting heavily. Terri had threatened to hurt Rachel further, Marley had seen it. She'd seen the bruises on her face and she carefully pushed back, gently putting her hands on Rachel's face, looking at her seriously, trying to determine if she'd been hurt. "Eye Mama, pee eye," she said opening and closing her hand repeatedly, so Rachel leaned over and turned on the bedside lamp. "Mama owie?" she asked sniffling a little bit, pushing away her own tears, afraid that Rachel had been injured by Terri.

"Mama's okay baby," Rachel told her kindly, petting her face as Marley continued to study hers.

"No, no, owies," Marley insisted, her fingers trailing over Rachel's face with the lightest of touches, not wanting to cause her Mama any more pain.

"I stubbed my toe before, but I'm okay," she assured her and Marley looked at her curiously.

When Santana returned with the cup of water, she stood at the doorway an watched Marley check over Rachel, like they were monkeys and Marley was grooming Rachel. "Uh oh, what did I miss?" Santana asked.

"Mommy!" Marley said in a rushed voice. "Mommy. Mama owies. May okay," she told her.

"Mama got hurt?" Santana asked kindly, cutting her eyes to Rachel who very carefully shook her head no.

"Eff, may okay Mommy," Marley urged from her position on Rachel's lap.

"And what would you like me to do to make Mama okay?" Santana asked with a wicked gleam in her eye.

"We need to get you laid," Rachel grumbled under her breath, but Santana heard her and simply laughed.

"Talk to me baby girl, what should we do to check that Mama is okay, which I'm sure she is," Santana assured her.

Marley looked around the room a little and then looked at Santana. Something was off. She felt out of place and confused, trying to figure out the difference between what was real and what was a dream. "Papa?" she asked wanting to know where he was.

"Papa's sleeping sweetheart. I can take you to show you, but I don't want to wake him up. None of us should even be awake as it is now," Santana said kindly.

"Papa kay?" Marley asked.

"I promise you baby girl, Mommy and Mama and Papa are all very safe," Santana told her and brought the glass of water to Marley's lips. "Drink please, just a little bit," she said kindly, although it was a bit more of an order than a request. It had to be done though. Marley's leg had started to cramp and she was wiggling around a bit, so Santana wanted to get water into her, before her entire body locked out. Marley drank as asked and then she carefully rested against Rachel.

"Can we try laying down baby?" Rachel asked her gently.

"Mama day Mommy?" Marley asked.

"Mama can stay if she wants. We can all cram into bed together," Santana told her, brushing her hair back against her forehead.

* * *

The next morning, Kurt got up and made chocolate chip pancakes for everyone and then brought it to the girls. He got on the bed with them and very carefully, they all ate and took turns helping Marley eat her breakfast. "Papa?" she asked. "Papa, oh kay? No owies?" she asked him slowly, studying his face and body for any sign of something wrong. If Terri had gotten to Rachel, surely she'd gotten to Kurt too.

"Yes baby, I'm okay. I don't hurt anywhere. I don't have any pain in my body," he assured her and scooped up some more pancake and fed it to her. She leaned into Rachel and was content to let them be. Once she finished eating Santana moved in front of her and spoke kindly.

"Marley baby, do you remember what we talked about last night?" she asked her gently.

"No baba Mommy, no baba, owie," she told her.

"I know sweetheart, but do you remember that we were trying to teach you the difference? What Terri did, that was wrong, and she also taught you the wrong word, and I hate to be the one to tell you this baby, but you do need one," Santana said and Marley started to cry immediately and backed away from Santana into Rachel.

"Hey, hey, hey, calm down, let Mommy tell you the full story sweetheart," she told her gently.

"No baba Mama, no," Marley cried and she picked up Rachel's hand and put it on her belly, wanting her to rub.

"Marley, look at me baby. You can sit with Mama and she can rub your belly, if she wants to, but I need you to focus on me sweetheart," Santana told her. "I want you to be prepared for what happens today, because it has to happen. I know you don't want it to, but we've waited too long, so we have to explain it to you, before you go through it," she explained.

"No, no baba!" she cried.

"Shhh, no, it's not a baba. We're not doing that. When you were with Terri, she bullied you. She abused you. I would never do that to you Marley. No one in this house would, nor would we let anyone hurt you," Santana tried.

"Here," Rachel said and she reached over to the night stand, grabbed the pacifier and put it in Marley's hand. "Hold this and if you want it, take it. I want you to be calm and focused so you truly understand everything Mommy is saying to you, and if you have questions, you can ask them," Rachel told her and Santana sighed happily. She probably wouldn't say it out loud, but there were moments where she was very grateful for Kurt and Rachel. Marley opened her mouth, her body shaking slightly and waited for Rachel to put it in.

"No baby girl. It's the same as always, only you are in charge of putting the pacifier in your mouth," Kurt told her and Marley looked at him, slightly stunned as did Santana and Rachel. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, Papa isn't usually the one to remind you of the rules and stuff. Meanwhile, I love you, and I have to go do dishes, are you done eating?" he asked her kindly.

She shook her head and let Kurt feed her three more bites, before turning away, indicating she was done. Overall, she ate a half a pancake, which was more than she'd eaten in one sitting, since she joined them.

"Okay, little girl, you need to focus, are you ready?" Santana asked her kindly and she nodded, but had tears in her eyes. "Okay, I'm just going to explain it to you, but first I have to know who's holding you."

"Mama," she said softly.

"Good girl baby, very good," Santana praised her. "This is what's going to happen, Mommy's friend, Nanny Susan, she's going to come over and she's going to give you the enema while Mommy holds you. It's going to be just the three of us and we're going to be in the bedroom, and you are going to be shown everything that is going to happen, before it happens. Nanny Susan knows how important you are to me and she has promised that she will go as slow as she can with us," Santana explained.

"Can I ask a question?" Rachel asked. She could feel how tense Marley was, so she wanted to be sure she got more information that she thought was important. Santana nodded and Rachel smiled. "What time is Nanny Susan coming?" she asked.

"One thirty," Santana said. "She wanted to be sure that your body had digested any food, it's eaten and that we would be the only ones home. Mama and Papa are working late tonight, so by the time they come home, Nanny Susan will be gone and it will be just Marley and Mommy that they come home to, and Marley will be feeling much less pain."

"Are we one hundred percent sure about this?" she asked.

"We are," Santana smiled and then focused in on Marley. "Sweetheart, I know you're scared, and it's okay, but I will never, ever, let anyone hurt you. This isn't going to be the most comfortable thing you ever do, but Nanny Susan will not hurt you, I will not leave you alone, and when it's all said and done, you will not have any more belly pain," Santana told her.

"No mo' ub?" Marley asked around her pacifier, craning a bit to look at Rachel.

"I will still rub your belly any time you want me to sweetheart," Rachel explained, "but having an enema, means I won't have to."


End file.
